


Device of Life

by mpuppy4



Category: UTAU, VOICEROID, Vocaloid, Voice Synthesizers
Genre: Characters are tagged in order of appearance, Drama, Eccentric Gumi, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Humor, Loads and Loads of Characters - Freeform, Luka is Best Mom Figure, Miku has a dog, Slice of Life, Tags May Change, You will probably forget some of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-31 02:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8560837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mpuppy4/pseuds/mpuppy4
Summary: Hatsune Miku lives in Silicon's Gate. She's the idol everyone craves, surrounded by adoring friends and fans, each and every one of whom she loves back. At home, Miku heads the Vocaloids, the group  that she considers her own family. Though they do tend to get on her nerves. Particularly one certain goggleheaded flirt. But she loves all of them anyway. Besides, she needs to set a good example.Kasane Teto lives in Silicon's Gate. As the captain of the UTAUloids, she makes it a point to always keep a positive demeanor, so to spread this positivity to those around her. After all, when everyone is so down, someone has to pull them back up. Teto has designated herself as that person, and there's nobody better for the job.Akita Neru lives in Silicon's Gate. As a Boukaloid, she works small jobs for low pay, and despises every second of it. Her constantly bitter attitude causes her disdain towards the more privileged Vocaloids, despite Miku extending a hand of friendship to her. Despite her antagonistic guise, Neru pulls herself out of bed every morning, only because someone is waiting for her beyond her closed doors.None of them were expecting disaster. "Come join the fun."





	1. Alarm Clocks Are Terrible and So is Miku's Family

On the beautiful, polished and crowded streets of mainframe Silicon's Gate, loids of all shapes and and sizes bustled about their daily routines. It was a cheerful Saturday morning, and the sky was coded with bright sunlight, beaming brightly upon the city's many citizens. Surely, it was another day just as peaceful as any other.

Unless you were Hatsune Miku.

A flash of teal and gray streaked across the sidewalks, swiftly dodging around pedestrians whose heads turned in confusion. Feet briskly tapped against the ground, carrying the Vocaloid they were attached to as quickly as they found it possible.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..."

Her breathing was heavy as she didn't exert herself like this very often, but she persisted. She was late enough as it was.

*Ding*

The sign at the crosswalk changed from Walk to Wait, causing Miku to stop just short of the road. She stumbled backwards and bumped into the loid behind her, offering a short apology. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees while she caught her breath.

"I can't believe I overslept..." she muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Actually," she sighed, standing back up, "yes I can." Then, fists clenched and teeth gritted, she shouted to no one in particular: "What I can't believe is that **nobody woke me up!** "

*Ding*

The sign changed back to Walk, and Miku bolted.

Meanwhile, hardly a couple blocks up, a pair of young looking loid girls were sitting at a table outside of a comfortable looking cafe. One, whose bright pink hair was tied into twindrills, was blabbering on about something that her companion didn't seem to care about. Said companion, a grumpy blonde with harsh eyebrows, seemed much more enraptured by her cellphone.

"...so then he says, 'I asked for oatmeal, not goatmeal!' and she replies, 'What's the difference?'" Teto continued to recall her obscure story to the Boukaloid sitting across from her. "Needless to say, he was in an awful mood for the rest of the day."

"Uh-huh." Neru replied absently, skimming over her message inbox.

The bright-eyed UTAUloid leaned across the table to catch a glimpse of Neru's phone screen. "Hey, has Miku responded to any of your messages yet?" she inquired.

Neru snorted, pushing Teto back into her chair with her free hand. "No," she growled.

Down the road, one hurried and exhausted Vocaloid continued in their direction.

"Aw, really?" Teto responded. "That's weird, it isn't like her not to tell us when something comes up."

Neru rolled her eyes. "Keh. I swear, when that girl shows up, I'm gonna strangle her for making us wait this long."

"Teto-chan! Neru-san!"

The two at the table looked up in surprise at the sound of their names. "Whoop, here's your chance," said Teto. Flashing a grin, she stood back up, calling, "Hi! Hi, Miku-chan!"

Upon her arrival, Miku nearly stormed directly into the table, causing Neru to recoil and nearly drop her phone on the ground. That, thankfully for Miku's health, did not happen. However, she did almost buckle over in fatigue immediately afterward.

"You're late," Neru scolded bitterly.

"Mm, mm-hm, yeah," Miku panted from where she now lay on the pavement. "Nngh, sorry about that..."

"Wow, Miku," Teto gasped. "Did you run all the way here?"

Miku nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Mm, yup, that's what I did alright."

Teto cringed in response. "Seriously? Why didn't you just take a cab?"

For a moment, there was silence among the three, as Teto and Neru stared down at the practically paralyzed Vocaloid before them. Then she rolled over onto her stomach, face flat against the filthy public ground. "I didn't think of that," Miku answered.

Teto sighed, and Neru grumbled. "Why didn't you leave earlier, then?" the latter challenged.

"My alarm clock didn't go off," came Miku's muffled response.

Neru and Teto exchanged glances. "So..." said Teto, "set two."

"Yeah, I set my phone to go off, too," Neru added.

There was another round of silence. Then Miku weakly thumped her forehead against the ground. "I didn't think of that either."

Another sigh and grumble. "Wow," said Neru, "you're pretty pathetic."

"I know..."

With an empathetic smile, Teto approached Miku and helped her up to her feet. "Now, now," she sang, patting the Vocaloid on the back affectionately, "the important thing is that we're all here now, okay? No need to worry about the past~"

"The past was less than a minute ago," said Neru flatly.

"That's not important~" Teto replied, a very subtly venom in her tone that Miku didn't seem to pick up on.

Once Miku was seated comfortably in the third chair and was most definitely not dying, the three went on to engage in conversation as if nothing had happened.

"So, Miku-chan!" said Teto. "Anything exciting happening over at Vocaloid Central? Upcoming concerts, newcomers...?"

"I'm pretty sure we've got something scheduled for Monday or Tuesday," Miku answered casually. "Nothing fancy, though. We'd be doing dress rehearsals by now if we were... It'll probably just be _World is Mine_ and _Tell Your World,_ again..."

"Well, that's no fun," Teto huffed. "Any word on something _bigger?"_

Miku simply shook her head. "No, nothing yet." She raised her index finger. "On the bright side, we'll probably be holding an end-of-summer festival, since last year's was such a big hit."

Teto clapped her hands together. "Alright! I'm sure that'll be great, especially with all the new recruits you've picked up since then." She turned to her left, eyeing the girl who's attentions were once again affixed to the glowing screen in front of her. "What do you think, Neru-san?"

"Huh?" Neru glanced up briefly, her gaze darting between the Vocaloid and the UTAUloid, before quickly flicking back down. "Eh, yeah, that's great."

"What are you even looking at on there?" Miku questioned.

"I dunno," Neru muttered, "maybe I'm setting my alarm for tomorrow..."

"Would you let it go?!" Miku exclaimed, slamming a fist against the table.

"Not as long as you react like that when I bring it up."

Miku turned her head away angrily.

"Um!" Teto waved her hands frantically to try and regain Miku's attention. "So! Newcomers, or no?"

Miku perked. "Oh. Well, I don't have all of the information, but I'm pretty sure we're getting at least three more before the end of the year."

"And before the end of summer?"

"Two, I think."

"Think they'll be ready for the festival?"

Miku smiled. "I'm sure they'll do just fine."

Teto grinned. "Cool! That's what I like to hear."

"What about you?" Miku inquired. "Have you or the others got anything planned?"

Teto waved a hand dismissively, a small smile plastered on her expression. "Oh, you know..." she answered, "we're not as organized as you guys. If anybody's got something booked, they haven't told me yet."

"So I take it that means that you're not performing anytime soon?"

The UTAUloid shook her head. "I don't really mind, though. Still getting paid from sales, after all~"

"Well, tell me the next time you're going on stage," said Miku. Flashing a thumbs-up, she continued, "That way, you can see me in the front row!"

"Aww!" Teto clutched a hand over her chest. "Thank you, Miku-chan! That means a lot coming from you~"

"Eheheh, don't mention it."

Neru's tongue poked slightly out from her mouth.

"How about you, Neru?" The mentioned's tongue quickly retreated back inside, the Boukaloid hoping that neither of her companions had caught sight of its short-lived journey out. "Anything new happening with you?" Teto asked.

Neru's eyes wandered to the side for a moment. "Hm." She pressed a button on the phone, and the screen went dark. "Nope. Nothing, same as always."

"You sure?" Miku questioned.

Neru nodded pointedly. "Yeah. 700 yen per hour, never leave the house unless I'm coming here on Saturday, for some stupid reason..." She clicked another button, and the phone's screen flashed back to life, her face immediately buried in it once again.

Miku and Teto exchanged glances. "Is..." Miku began. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Neru stated bluntly.

"Eh..." Teto looked to Miku to find that she'd become very interested in her tie. The chimera sighed. "Man, Neru," she said, reaching across the table in an attempt to push Neru's phone away from her. This failed on epic proportions. "That sounds... boring. Why don't you try to get out more?"

"Because I don't want to."

"At least she's honest," Miku muttered.

Teto scratched her chin thoughtfully as her friends continued to avert their gazes downward. "Alright..." With a sudden realization, she snapped her fingers. "Okay, Neru-san, about this?" Both looked up to her curiously. "I want you to come to the summer festival, too," Teto said cheerfully. "You don't have to stay for the whole thing, but I want you to at least look around for a bit and stay for Miku's performance."

Neru's eyes narrowed skeptically. "Why would I do that?"

"Because!" Teto used her fingers to draw a heart over her chest. "I solemnly swear that if you do so, regardless of whether you enjoy yourself or not," she declared startlingly loud, "that I will never, _ever_ bother you about your social life, ever again!" She flashed a genuine smile, to emphasize her point.

Miku and Neru blinked twice at her.

"For real?" Miku questioned.

Teto nodded.

"But..." said Neru, "one of your favorite annoying things to do is bother me about my social life."

"I know." Teto was beaming just as brightly as ever.

After exchanging a quick glance with Neru, Miku asked, "Are you sure you can actually go through with a promise like that?"

"One hundred percent positive." Teto nodded again.

Neru held a hand over her mouth, most likely contemplating the author. Miku looked to her in expectation of an interesting response. After a moment, Neru leaned back in her chair. "I'll think about it," she declared simply, turning her attention back down to the phone screen.

"Seriously?" Miku muttered.

"Well, take all the time you need!" Teto said, slamming a fist against Miku's hand on the table and causing her to yelp.

Miku gingerly caressed her now crippled hand. "What was that for?!"

"Here's an idea! Let's order food!"

"Fine by me."

"Are you not going to answer my question?!"

* * *

Miku felt around her shirt, then checked the pockets in her skirt. Her expression unfolded into one of dismay. "I forgot my wallet," she said.

"Seriously?" Neru growled.

"Seriously..."

"Ouch," Teto remarked.

Miku slammed her head against the table, and Neru emitted a muffled snicker. "If you two split the bill, I can pay you back next time..."

"How can we trust you not to forget your wallet again?" Neru challenged.

"I don't know... I'm such a moron..."

"No need to worry!" Teto exclaimed, before Miku had the chance to beat herself anymore than she and Neru already had. "Look!" Teto pulled out her own pink wallet, thrusting it into the air as if it were the holy sword Excalibur. "No need to fear, Kasane Teto is here! I'll pay the bill myself!" In a flash, 900 yen was smacked down onto the table.

"Er, Teto-chan..." Miku protested, "you really don't have to..."

"I don't _have_ to do anything!" Teto said, raising an index finger pointedly. "That doesn't mean that I won't!"

"You're too nice for your own good," said Neru. "Well, whatever. I don't have to pay, so I'm not complaining." Teto gave a thumbs-up as Neru stood and pushed her chair in. "Thanks, I guess. I'm going home."

"Okay!" Teto said, waving goodbye. "Bye, Neru-san! See you later!"

"Yeah, bye," said Miku.

Neru didn't respond. She was back to her cellphone again.

The second she was out of sight, Teto's wide, welcoming smile evaporated. She turned back to Miku, who was fiddling with her tie. "Hey, Miku-chan..." Teto said, poking the Vocaloid's shoulder. "You know, you really should try to be nicer to her..."

"I know," Miku sighed, her head falling to side. "I just really hate it when she acts like that. Bad attitude is contagious."

"Exactly. You're making it worse by acting like that." Teto's smile returned, although this time it was less goofy and more sympathetic. "Hey, I know it's difficult, but it'll be better for everyone if we treat Neru-san with some respect. She needs it, and I know she doesn't say, but I'm sure that she's grateful for it."

"Yeah..."

They sat there for a moment, Teto staring off in the direction Neru had left. "Hey..." she eventually said, "you picked up on that, right?"

"Yeah," Miku replied. "Neru's a terrible liar. She's obviously got something that she doesn't want us to know about."

Teto nodded slowly. "Well, whatever it is," she said, "it's best that we not bother her about it. That'll only make her more uptight."

"Right."

"Doesn't mean we can't find out what it is without asking her directly."

Miku smirked. "Right."

They remained there for a couple more minutes, until Miku checked the time on her phone and nearly toppled out of her seat. "Anyway, I'll see you later!" she exclaimed, frantically trying to shove the chair back under the table. "I have a family that needs a serious questioning!"

"Oh. Okay? Bye then?" Teto waved her hand side to side, watching as Miku stormed back down the street in the direction from which she came. "Why don't you walk?!" Teto sighed, her smile lingering even in her solitude. "I have some weird friends."

* * *

*Ding*

The doors to Vocaloid Central's main elevator slid open to reveal a grumpy looking Hatsune Miku, whose hands explored her tie out of nervous habit. She stepped out, dusting off her skirt, humming a familiar tune to herself. "Remembering a white and falling light, a feeling you brought to me... A glowing memory, where the heck are my friends... Hm hm..."

She cupped a hand over her ear, listening for any activity that may have been going on on the floor. Eventually, she caught one familiar sound resonating from just down the hallway. "Ah-ha! I should've known."

The sound was emanating from a surround-sound system hooked up to a large flat-screen TV. Said flat screen TV was showing off the flashy effects of a 2D fighting video game, in which two burly men were brutally beating the crap out of each other. The game was being controlled by two young Vocaloids sitting casually on the long, comfortable looking white and blue sofa in the center of the room. Len had his feet folded on the transparent coffee table in front of him, his gaze locked onto the screen as his thumbs made quick but thoughtful movements on the controller in his lap. Rin lay next to him, upside-down with her feet hanging over the back of the couch. Her commands on the controller looked almost robotic, and she seemed like she was falling asleep. On a smaller two-seat sofa off to the left of the room, Kaito was on the edge of his seat, quietly commentating on the fight and switching several times between which Kagamine he was rooting for. Meiko sat beside him, far more interested in the magazine she was reading. A small white dog in a blue collar was curled up at the base of their seating, its tail thumping periodically against the ground.

Miku poked her head through the large doorway a few feet behind the center sofa, and an evil smirk crossed her face as she analyzed who was here. As she stepped inside, the dog's ears immediately perked, and its head raised in her direction. It hurriedly scrambled up on its stubby little legs and went to greet her, wagging its fluffy tail excitedly. "Hi, Chiptune," Miku said quietly, leaning over to affectionately scratch his head. Chiptune seemed to be the only one at all interested in the new arrival. This made it easier for her to stride right on over to the couch, slowly drawing a finger over the backboard. "Good _morning,_ my absolutely lovely and dear friends whom I hold ever so close to my heart."

"Hey," said Len.

"'Sup," said Meiko.

"Hi, Miku," said Kaito.

"It's 12:30," Rin deadpanned.

Miku narrowed her eyes, her grin unwavering. "Good _afternoon,_ my absolutely lovely and dear friends whom I hold ever so close to my heart," she corrected.

"Close enough," said Rin.

Miku slapped her hands together, Chiptune looking up at her curiously and everyone else remaining enamored by their own activities. _"So,_ my dearest friends, each and every one of whom I love as if they were my own family..."

"And, here we go..." Rin sighed.

"...would anybody like to explain why no one thought to wake me up this morning when my alarm failed to do so," Miku inquired, "you know, since I always get up at seven on Saturdays?"

"I was still sleeping," was Len's excuse.

"I forgot," was Rin's.

"Well aren't you two just buckets of help?"

"Buckets," Len concurred.

"Truckloads," Rin added.

Miku turned her attention to the two eldest Vocaloids presently in the room. "And Meiko?" she challenged.

"Sleeping," Meiko answered, casually turning the page over in her magazine.

"Kaito?"

The aforementioned coughed, loosening the scarf around his neck. "Er, I was asleep, too," he sighed.

"You know, Miku," said Meiko, "this may come as a surprise to you, but most people actually _sleep in_ on Saturdays."

Miku grumbled, folding her arms in frustration. Chiptune padded over to paw at her leg, and she looked down at the little animal expectantly. "And what's _your_ excuse?" she questioned sarcastically.

Chiptune tilted his head.

A loud gong sounded from the television, indicating the end of the game's round. Len gave a cat-like growl of despair and threw his controller against the couch cushion. Rin, meanwhile, was snickering victoriously at his reaction. "Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Len exclaimed.

"Hehe, nope!" Rin teased.

"You guys aren't even paying attention to me!" Miku shouted.

Len took his controller back up, a new determination flaring in his eyes. "Alright, that's it. Best four out of nine!"

"Do you really think you can beat me four times in a row?"

"No." Len hung his head in shame.

With a disgruntled roar, Miku stomped out of the room, Chiptune at her heels. "You're all the worst!" Miku called back.

"Love you too, kid!" Meiko returned.

Kaito whimpered, scratching his head nervously. "Do you guys think she's really mad at us?" he asked.

"Nah," Rin responded. "She'll be over it in like an hour."

"Uh-huh," Len confirmed.

"I will not be over it in like an hour," Miku muttered under her breath, inevitably having overheard the exchange from the hallway. As she attempted to dramatically trudge away in a state of rage, she was so focused on her pouting that she didn't seem to be looking where she was going. As such, she didn't make it very far before bumping into somebody. "Oof. Uh, sorry..."

"No, it's fine, Miku. That was my fault."

Miku scratched her head, looking up at the Vocaloid now standing in front of her. "Oh! Hi, Luka."

Luka smiled warmly down at her smaller friend. "Yes, hello. Where have you been all morning?"

"Out with Teto and Neru," Miku answered, while Chiptune came over to sniff Luka's shoes. "It took a little longer than usual."

Luka raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I thought your meeting was cancelled today."

Miku frowned. "Why would it be cancelled?"

"Well, I checked in your room at 7:40 and you were still asleep, so I guess I just assumed..."

Miku's expression flattened.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong. Absolutely nothing at all."

"Oh, alright then. Speaking of your room..." Luka pointed upward, in the general direction of Miku's bedroom on the next floor up. "...it's filthy. When's the last time you cleaned it?"

Miku grumbled, using her foot to nudge Chiptune away from the other Vocaloid. "I'm gonna go take a shower..."

"Nope." As Miku attempted to slip by, she was snagged by the back of her shirt and dragged backward. Chiptune barked indignantly in an attempt to defend his master. "Hatsune Miku," Luka said darkly, causing Miku to cringe, "when was the last time that you cleaned your room?"

"Ehhhh..." Miku tugged on her tie. "On... Wednesday?"

 _"Which_ Wednesday?"

Miku swallowed the lump in her throat. "Wednesday... two... two weeks ago..."

She was released, and only barely caught herself from falling flat on her face. "Clean your room," Luka commanded.

"Okay..." Miku groaned.

* * *

**On the Next Chapter:** Murphy's Law Harasses Neru and Miku Walks Her Dog


	2. Murphy's Law Harasses Neru and Miku Walks Her Dog

Another lovely morning in Silicon's Gate, the sun shone in the pixely blue sky even brighter than it had the day prior. Not that this had any baring whatsoever on one certain Boukaloid, whose windows and blinds were shut up so tight that her entire apartment was bathed in inky darkness.

Akita Neru slept soundly in her little twin-size bed, hair down, feet poking out from under the blanket, and drool pooling on her pillow. She grumbled, rolling onto her side as her dreams slowly came to a close and she was stirred from her slumbers. Groggily, Neru turned back over, her golden eyes revealing themselves to the nonexistent daylight. After contemplating going back to sleep for about two seconds, she came to a sudden realization.

She checked the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand, which she couldn't recall having gone off this morning. It read 8:03.

Her eyes narrowing, she took her cellphone from beside the alarm clock and pushed down on the button that was meant to turn it on. After holding it for upwards of ten seconds, the screen flashed a picture of an empty battery.

"Oh, you gotta be f-"

* * *

Miku opened up the door to her bedroom, quietly scrambling inside with Chiptune in her wake. Slowly and steadily pushing the door closed behind her, Miku hummed to herself, "Ooh, gotta clean my room... Luka's gonna kill me if she finds out I haven't cleaned my room yet..." Chiptune yipped along to her melody. "Shoulda done it yesterday, but I'm a dirty procrastinator, so I guess I'm doing it now..."

Miku placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, exhaling pointedly. "Okay, I can do this. It's just cleaning my room, how bad could it possibly-"

She cut off her own sentence when she turned away from the door to actually look at the room she was meant to be cleaning. It was disgusting. Clothes and papers littered the ground, books were pulled from their shelves and action figures were knocked over. That's not even to mention the bed, which in and of itself was a complete and utter wreck. It looked like a tornado had thrown up.

Miku stared vacantly for a moment, before her head dropped to look at the ground. "'I'll clean my room,' you said. 'It'll be easy,' you said."

Chiptune nudged her leg, and Miku turned slightly so she could see him. The little dog had a plastic trash bag clamped in his maw, and his fluffy tail was swishing back and forth.

Miku smiled, leaning over to take the trash bag from the puppy. "Right." She nodded. "I can do this." Shooting her arms into the air enthusiastically, she exclaimed, " **I can do this!** "

"Shut up!" came a muffled yell from down the hall.

"Sorry!" Miku whisper-yelled back.

And so, Hatsune Miku got to work. "Work" of course meaning that she was just throwing everything on the floor into the trash bag. The only exceptions to this was some clothes which she tossed into her already overflowing hamper, and several action figures which returned to their rightful homes on the shelves and dressers. Once the floor was cleared, Miku tied off the bag and placed it in the corner, then straightened out her sheets and fluffed her pillow.

"Done!" she declared, gazing over the results of her minimal efforts. "Pfft, and I thought it would be hard." Miku gave herself a high-five. "And..." She flopped backwards onto the bed. "...now I can relax!"

"Woof!"

Miku blinked, then sat back up. Chiptune was standing at her feet, his tail wagging eagerly and his front paws padding in place. He was carrying a flashy blue leash in his mouth.

"Oh," said Miku flatly, "right. You're supposed to be walked on Sunday."

She stood up and walked across the room, Chiptune watching her expectantly. Miku pushed the door open and leaned out into the corridor. "Hey!" she shouted. "Whose turn is it to walk the dog?!"

"Not it!" came Rin and Len's voices in unison from their shared room a few doors down.

Miku sighed. "Rinnnnn-chaaaaaaann!" she called, practically at the top of her lungs.

"What?!" Rin returned just as loudly.

"I'll give you 500 yen if you walk the dog!"

"Bump it up to 1000 and you've got yourself a deal!"

"I'm not giving you a thousand yen just for walking the dog!"

"Then I'm not walking the dog!"

"Fine! _I'll_ walk the dog!"

"Have fun with that!"

Miku snorted, her face scrunching up in mild frustration.

 **"Hey!"** came an even louder voice from the other end of the corridor. **"What the hell are you two screaming at each other down the hall for?! Some of us are trying to relax!"**

Miku cringed. "Sorry, Meiko-san!"

**"You better be!"**

Before any more yelling could happen, Miku scooped up Chiptune in her arms and made a mad dash for the elevator.

* * *

Neru sat grumpily in front of her computer screen, still in her pajamas and still with her hair down. Dark bags hung under the young Boukaloid's eyes, and she was muttering swears under her breath. The screen was opened to an internet window, and a website for buying and selling items that were no longer desired.

Neru sighed. "Still nothing..."

She picked her phone up from the desk. It was still plugged into the charger on the wall. She had recieved a text.

_[Sorry, Neru, I can't go with you today. My brother showed up unexpectedly. Will you be okay on your own?]_

Neru grumbled and began typing out a response with thumbs of lightning.

_[Yeah, whatever. See you later.]_

She probably could have written a lighter response, but she had already hit the send button. There's no going back from the send button.

Neru stood up trudged back into her room, pulling her usual outfit from its pile on the floor and dressing herself. Once the black and blue restrictor was secured neatly to her hair, she grabbed an old looking backpack from under her bed and left back into the living room.

She scavenged around the apartment, snagging anything that looked even remotely valuable and stuffing it in the bag. Old movies and video games, a VCR, her old flip phone that she'd only recently replaced. When she was done, she hauled the backpack over her shoulder, grunting and stumbling under its weight. She slipped her phone into the pocket of her skirt and left her little one-story apartment, making sure the door was locked behind her.

She pulled up a map of the city on her phone, typing in the name of her destination.

"Okay," she muttered.

The location she sought was well up to the northern half of the city, and she lived downtown on the southern side. She knew she didn't have the money for a taxi or even a bus, so all she could do was grumble about what a tedious journey it was going to be.

Neru trekked up the sidewalk in the direction of Vocaloid Central, which sat in the dead center of Silicon's Gate. She knew the way there, just about everybody did. According to the map, the business she was looking for wasn't too far from there. She could just head up to Central, pray that she didn't actually meet any of those Vocaloids there, and look for her destination.

"Oh, Neru-san~!"

"Shit."

Neru turned around at the sound of the annoyingly cheerful voice, not at all surprised but still aggravated to see Kasane Teto zooming up the street to meet her.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here!" Teto greeted, sporting her usual grin. "What brings you outside this early in the morning? I thought you were allergic to sunlight or something."

"Ha ha." Neru rolled her eyes. "That's none of your business. I just have something to take care of is all."

"What's in the bag?" Teto questioned, leaning forward and indicating the heavy backpack Neru was carrying.

The Boukaloid turned the bag away sharply. "That's even less of your business," she replied.

Teto shrugged. "Alright then." To Neru's dismay, the UTAUloid then proceeded to grasp her friend's shoulders enthusiastically. "Hey, are you heading up to Vocaloid Central?"

"Uh..."

"Cool, so am I! We can go together, let's go!"

"Wait, no-"

Unfortunately for Neru, it was a bit difficult to argue with this one, and soon she was being dragged away by her self-proclaimed friend.

"I was hoping to catch Miku-chan again today," Teto explained without any provocation whatsoever, "because I have some ideas about the summer festival that I'm hoping to pitch. I thought it might do some good for my team's self-esteem if we got to perform too, and if the festival runs all day then there'll be plenty of time for all of us to go on! I'm sure her friends wouldn't want to go putting on repeat acts, anyway."

"Uh-huh," Neru droned disinterestedly.

"Speaking of the summer festival," Teto turned back to face Neru, "have you made your decision yet?"

"Decision...?" Neru took a moment to process this inquiry, then recalling the conversation they'd had just the day before. "Oh, right. That." She sighed. "No, I haven't decided yet, and I probably won't for a while. I kind of have more important things to worry about right now."

"Okay! Take your time, it's not like I need an answer right away. You have, like, three months, anyway!"

Freaking Teto.

"Anyway, what are you going to Vocaloid Central for?" Teto inquired.

"I'm just heading in that direction," Neru answered. "I'm trying to get somewhere else, but I can find it easier from there."

"Cool! How come you're walking though?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I like walking! You get to really take in the scenery. And you might meet up with people you know, like we did! But what about you?"

"I didn't feel like dealing with the stuffy crowds on the bus," Neru lied.

"Fair enough. Hey, we're almost there!"

"Thank god..."

Vocaloid Central was a big place, to say the least of it. It was the enormous, shiny, expensive looking mansion that served as the home of the Vocaloids, who of course were renowned as the most _important_ and _desirable_ of all the loids. This completely confounded Neru. The Vocaloids were nothing more than glorified pop stars. Neru just chocked up their special treatment to people being stupid.

The mansion itself, of course, was locked away behind tall walls and an enormous set of iron gates with a flashy V on them. Couldn't have any unwanted guests, now could we? Tough looking Captchaloids sporting dark suits and glinting badges often guarded the main entrance, and today was no exception. The rest of the property outside of the mansion, however, was open to the public, and served as a popular communal area. If nothing else, you could call the Vocaloids generous for that, because VC's property was really big and really pretty. Colorful cobblestone paths, hedges shaped into music notes, a fountain with the name of every Vocaloid engraved on the sides and fields with the greenest grasses you'd ever seen.

Neru didn't like it here.

"Welp, I'm gonna go up to the gate~" Teto sang, releasing her overly tight grip on Neru's hand. "You coming with, or are you heading off?"

"I'm going," Neru answered, massaging her hand gingerly. "I said that I was just passing through, I don't want to be here for too long."

"Alright, then. See you later, Neru-san~!"

"Yeah, bye."

Neru pulled her phone back out, scowling when the map displayed a "no connection" error. She went into her settings and passed through a few menus, groaning in frustration when she found what she was looking for.

"Out of data..."

She glanced around hopefully, thinking that maybe she would be able to find an actual paper map, or somebody who could give her directions. There were plenty of people around, after all. However, as soon as Neru even considered approaching one of them, her entire body froze up.

"Ugh... maybe Kasane can set up a wi-fi hotspot..."

Reluctantly, the Boukaloid dashed across the Central grounds, sneering at the fountain with Miku's name on it in bold letters, dashing up to the main gate where Teto was talking to the Captchaloid standing guard.

"Name?"

"Kasane Teto, sir. Oh, the 'sir' was me addressing you, sir, not my actual name, sir."

"Uh-huh. ID?"

"Uh..."

The Captchaloid turned to Neru when she approached, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What's in the bag?"

"I'm not going inside," Neru said quickly, before turning back to Teto. "Hey, my phone's out of data. Can I borrow your wi-fi?"

"You can do that?" Teto questioned, and Neru grimaced.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

Teto, Neru, and the Captchaloid turned around to see none other than Hatsune Miku herself coming up to them, looking confused in particular because Neru never visited. While Neru wasn't particularly happy to see the face of the Vocaloids here, she was even less happy to see that the face of the Vocaloids was currently in the process of walking her dog.

The little white monster's beady black eyes bore into Neru's, causing her hand to twitch. It was just staring, its mouth gaping open, flashing its sharp, yellowing teeth. Observing the saliva dripping from its lolling tongue, Neru took a couple of uncomfortable paces back.

"Ah, Hatsune-sama," the Captchaloid greeted.

"Don't mind these two," Miku said with a wave of her hand. "they're with me."

"If you say so."

Teto gave an exuberant gasp, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Chiptune!" she exclaimed, immediately dropping to her knees as the little dog hopped over to meet her. "Aw, it's good to see you too!" Neru cringed as the animal began to affectionately apply its tongue to Teto's face.

"Ew," Neru growled, "don't let it do that. You don't know where it's been."

"Chiptune is a _'he',_ not an _'it',_ Neru," Miku scolded.

Neru rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Hey, Miku!" Teto exclaimed whilst scratching Chiptune's ears, "Neru asked if she could borrow my wi-fi, but I don't know how to do that! Do you think she could borrow yours?"

Miku raised an eyebrow. "'Borrow'...?" she questioned. "Of course she can. Central has free wi-fi available to the public. You don't have to ask me."

Neru blinked, then pulled up the wi-fi settings on her phone. Sure enough, at the top of the list was "Vocaloid Central", with a full connection. Neru scowled, realizing that this meant that this entire encounter was completely pointless.

"Is it working?" Miku inquired after Neru connected.

"Yeah," Neru answered, checking back up on the map. "Thanks, I guess."

Miku smiled. "No problem. Anyway, what are you guys doing here? I don't think I've ever actually seen Neru here at all."

"I'm here because I wanted to talk to you!" Teto declared from where she was still sitting on the ground despite Chiptune having left to sniff around the grass. "Isn't that convenient? Oh, and Neru-san is just passing through, but she ran out of data."

"I see." Miku turned to Neru curiously. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told Kasane," the Boukaloid grumbled. "That's none of your business."

"Wow, rude."

"Oh, she's just grumpy because of her phone!" said Teto quickly, standing herself back up. "She doesn't mean it!" Leaning in closer to Miku, she whispered, "But I'll bet that it has something to do with you-know-what."

A look of understanding crossed Miku's expression, and she nodded discreetly.

"Hey, Neru-san!" Teto exclaimed. Neru's brow furrowed, her expression scrunching into a glare as the UTAUloid approached her. "You're just trying to use that map, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, it'll stop working as soon as you leave here then, right?"

Neru blinked. "Oh... crap."

Teto flashed her signature grin, causing a sudden wave of anxiety to wash over Neru. "Well, no need to worry!" Teto searched around her pockets until she found what she was looking for: her cellphone. She thrusted it into the air, the sunlight reflecting off of it majestically. "Kasane Teto still has data! Kasane Teto will pull up the map on her phone, and we can all walk to Neru's destination together!"

Neru cringed.

"Oh, okay!" Miku exclaimed cheerfully. "That way Neru can get to where she's going, and you can tell me about what you wanted to talk about."

"Exactly!" Teto concurred.

Miku glanced to Chiptune, who was trying to eat the grass off of the lawn. She tugged on the leash to get him to stop. "Well, Chiptune hasn't left Central in a while... I guess that would be best for all of us, then."

Neru grumbled quietly.

"Sweet! So, where are you going, Neru-san?"

Neru blinked again. "Uh..."

Teto turned to Miku, cupping a hand in front of her mouth. "Ooh, maybe she didn't hear me. I said-" The Boukaloid covered her ears expectantly. "- **where are you going, Neru-san?!** "

Neru shoved Teto away from her, and Miku rolled her eyes. "I'm... going to a video store," Neru answered meekly, glancing down at her phone as she pulled up the address. "Here."

As Teto copied the address, she raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Hey, I've never even heard of this place. Miku-chan, have you ever heard of this place?"

Miku read the name of the store off of Teto's map and shook her head. "Nope. Neru-san, where did you even find a place like this?"

"A friend suggested it to me," Neru sighed. Her gaze again wandered over to the dog, which was gaping at her distantly. "Let's... let's just get this over with."

And so, Teto led the way to the video store, Miku and Chiptune by her side as the UTAUloid explained to the Vocaloid her ideas for the summer festival. Chiptune kept trying to wander off, or bark at people passing by, and was continually scolded. Neru kept a solid five feet's distance between her and them at all times, sneering at the dog bitterly.

"I dunno, Teto-chan," Miku said. "I mean, it's not a _bad_ idea, but I don't know how many slots we have to fill..."

"Well, last year you had a ton of repeat acts!" Teto exclaimed. "I think you could get a lot more attention if you had some more faces on stage. Besides, I don't even know how many of them would agree to it. Some of them are pretty serious about our 'bitter rivalry'." She made air quotes with her fingers, causing Miku to giggle.

"Oh, I'll have to discuss it with the others," Miku replied, "but I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."

"Hooray~!"

Neru grumbled, readjusting her backpack because it was falling down. She silently hoped that this completely and utterly horrible experience would be over soon.

"Oh, hey Neru-san!" Teto called back, attracting the Boukaloid's attention. "I think this is your stop!"

Neru dashed to catch up to the others, and looked up to see the small, brick building they were new standing in front of.

_"Z-Games"_

This was the one.

"You good now, Neru-san?" Teto inquired.

"Yeah," Neru replied. "Er... thanks."

Teto smiled warmly. "No problem!"

As Neru approached the store and pushed the door open, she heard Miku's voice behind her: "Hey, is that an ice cream cart?" and Teto's response: "Hey, yeah it is! Ooh, race you to it!"

"What?! No fair, I've got Chiptune!"

Neru rolled her eyes.

A little bell rang as she stepped inside, to compliment her entrance. The shop was a quaint little place, with white walls and a brown carpet floor. Everything was surprisingly clean despite the building's exterior. It was pretty comfortable, with display cases sowing off out-of-print games and consoles, as well as movies and CD players and the like. The counter at the back of the building's one room had a little fan running behind it, beside which sat the store's cashier, who was staring down at a DS. The only thing that at all put Neru off about the place was the annoyingly familiar song playing on the radio.

_"Hra-tsa-tsa, ia ripi-dapi dilla barits tad dillan deh lando ..."  
_

Neru approached the counter, and the guy sitting behind it looked up at her. He had blonde hair and a black and orange jacket, as well as, for some reason, a CD hanging from his collar. He smiled, closing the DS and placing it under the counter.

"Hi, welcome to Z-Games," he greeted. "How can I help you today?"

Neru shifted on her feet, gripping the backpack straps tightly. "Er, you... I can sell used stuff here, right?"

"Sure can," the cashier answered. "What have you got?"

Neru then proceeded to pretty much completely dump out the bag's contents in front of him.

* * *

Neru left Z-Games with a considerably lighter bag and barely heavier pockets. She flipped through the money she'd received. Hardly even breached 5000 yen. She heaved a disdainful sigh. At least she could buy groceries now.

"Hey, Neru-san!"

She grumbled, slipping the money into her pocket and turning around. Sure enough, as expected, Teto was zooming over to her. "Hey! How did it go?"

"Fine," Neru responded. "It went fine."

"Cool! Hey, we got something for you!" Neru raised an eyebrow as the UTAUloid handed her a fudgsicle, still in its wrapper. "You've been in a pretty cruddy mood lately, but I know you like chocolate! We split the cost!"

Neru raised an eyebrow, turning over the popsicle in her hands and reading the label. Seemed to be a perfectly legitimate fudgsicle.

"Are you gonna eat it, or just stare at it all day?" Neru glanced up to see Miku, the leash wrapped around her wrist as she carried a popsicle in one hand and a small tub of vanilla ice cream in another, the dog padding along beside her. "Come on, don't let it melt. We paid 100 yen for that."

"100 yen?" Neru questioned indignantly as Miku set the vanilla ice cream down in front of Chiptune. The Boukaloid glanced over the label again. "That's highway robbery."

"More reason for you to eat it," said Miku. "We can't give it back."

Chiptune yipped at Neru, causing her to flinch, before turning his attention down to the ice cream.

Neru sighed. "Oh, alright. Fine."

"Yay!" Teto cheered, as Neru pulled the wrapper off.

"How is it?" Miku inquired.

When Neru tasted the frozen treat, she accidentally let a small smile escape from her. She quickly covered it, but it seemed that Miku and Teto had noticed, considering that they were laughing. Neru turned away from them to conceal the shade of pink her cheeks were turning, and cleared her throat.

"Chocolatey."

* * *

 **On the next chapter:** New Announcements and Miku's Nonexistent Attention Span


	3. New Announcements and Miku's Nonexistant Attention Span

**Chapter 3: "New Announcements and Miku's Nonexistent Attention Span"  
**

The digital sun shone down again on beautiful Silicon's Gate, particularly in one area of the downtown, where some peculiar loids of many shapes and sizes were gathering. _Some_ where upward of a hundred loids, that is. Some were male, some were female, some were short, some were tall. Some were hairy, some were scaley, some were neither. They were all communing just outside of the city's main neighborhood area, in a park with a standard looking wooden stage at the back of it.

Their attentions were turned up to the stage as the sound of a finger tapping against a microphone sounded around the park.

 _"Gooooooood morning, ladies and loids!"_ Kasane Teto's voice resounded from the one amplifier sitting up on the platform. Beside said amplifier stood Teto herself, looking peppier than ever, and that was saying something. _"I'd like to thank you all for coming out today! I probably could have just texted you about this, but I figured this would be more fun!"_

A couple of the loids gathered below started clapping, and one whistled, but pretty much everybody else was either staring blankly at her or exchanging glances with another. One loid in the very back of the crowd coughed.

Teto was unfazed. _"So! You're all probably wondering why I called you here today!"_

"Yeah, why did you call us here today?!" exclaimed Hiwatari Yoshiro from his spot near the front.

 _"An excellent question, Yoshiro!"_ Teto replied, pointing to him enthusiastically. _"I called you here today... because I have something to tell you!"  
_

"Get on with it!" exclaimed Sukone Tei.

 _"You got it, Tei!"_ Teto flashed a wink, and Tei pressed her palm against her forehead. _"I called you here today because I was talking to Hatsune Miku, and-"_

This was immediately met with groans from several members of the audience, Tei in particular.

 _"Oh come on!"_ Teto exclaimed. _"You guys_ _didn't even let me finish!"_ When the annoyed grumbles didn't cease, she rolled her eyes. She tapped the mic a couple of times in a feeble attempt to regain their attentions. This failed miserably, of course. Teto then shrugged nonchalantly, and turned around as if to leave. She did not leave.

_**"Shut up!"** _

She had screamed the words so loud that the amplifier squealed from the volume, and everyone in the audience either shrieked, covered their ears, or both. Teto paused for a moment to allow everyone to regain their composure, then turned back to beam down on them as if nothing had happened. _"Thank you~!"_ she sang.

 _"Anyway, I was talking to Hatsune Miku about the end of summer festival. The Vocaloids have decided that they're going to make it an annual thing, since last year's was such a big hit."_ Somebody down there muttered "why should we care?" and despite their quietness, Teto heard anyway, and shot a death glare in their direction. _"The reason you should care,"_ she continued pointedly, _"is because she and I agreed that it would be a good idea if some of us UTAUloids performed there as well!"_

She stopped to listen to the crowd for their reaction, and was pleased to receive a much more tame response than before. It almost sounded like some of them were actually considering it. _"Obviously there isn't enough room for all of us to go on, but there isn't enough room for all of us to go on at our own performances anyway. Besides, I'm sure that most of you are entirely opposed to even the idea of performing at Vocaloid Central."_ Teto cast a sideways glance to Tei when she said this. _"So, if anyone's interested, just tell me, and we'll work something out.."_ She grinned brightly, holding the mic in both hands. _"Alright! That's it for today! But hey, since we're all here, why don't we try to have a little fun? Who's up for some karaoke?"_

The entire crowd had departed before she even realized what happened.

Teto blinked, lowering the microphone to her side. "Guess that's a 'no', then."

* * *

Miku was laying peacefully in her bed, staring up at the PSP she was holding and wiggling her feet absent mindedly. Chiptune was curled up beside her, snoring quietly and contentedly in his slumbers. Looked to be a completely average day in Vocaloid Central.

Both Miku and Chiptune perked at the sound of a *click*, and looked up curiously as the door slid open.

"Good morning, Miku."

"Morning, Luka."

Luka let herself in, only somewhat closing the door behind her. Chiptune had begun wagging his tail enthusiastically, though he didn't seem to have the energy in him at the time to get up and greet the new arrival.

"What's up?" Miku inquired.

"I just wanted to check and see if you were awake," Luka replied, "since I didn't see you at breakfast this morning."

"I wasn't hungry," said Miku, turning her eyes back to her game.

"I see. Just tell somebody that you're up next time, okay?"

"Okay."

Luka looked around the room, approaching the bed and scratching Chiptune's ears as she did so. "I see you cleaned your room," she observed.

Miku cast a quick glance at the trash bag sitting in the opposite corner of the room, which seemed to be leaning over a bit more than she had left it, then nodded. "Yup. Just like you asked."

"Good," said Luka. "And, when was it, that you did so?"

"Yesterday morning," Miku answered.

"Uh-huh." Luka placed her hands on her hips, turning slightly in Miku's direction. "Now, if I'm not mistaken... did I not ask that you clean your room the day _before_ that?"

Miku froze, her expression reflecting that of a deer caught in the headlights.

Then, as if just to add insult to injury, the trash bag in the corner of the room fell over, the contents spilling back out onto the floor.

Both stared at the now renewed mess on the ground, the papers and books and clothes once again scattered across the carpet. Then Luka slowly turned her head back and narrowed her eyes at Miku, who was burying her face in her palms and screaming internally. Chiptune looked to his master with perked ears and a tilted head.

"Well," said Luka, "since you're not hungry, I suppose you wouldn't have a problem going without dinner tonight then, hm?"

"Luka, no!" Miku sobbed over-dramatically.

Luka rolled her eyes. _"Actually_ clean your room."

"Okay."

"And do your laundry," she added, indicating the overflowing hamper sitting beside Miku's dresser.

"Okay."

 _"Today,"_ she clarified.

"Okay!" Miku hurled her pillow at Luka, prompting the designated elder of the two to leave, and causing Chiptune to bark.

* * *

Several hours later, Miku walked grumpily back down the fourth floor corridor, carrying a basket of her folded laundry in her arms. "'Clean your room. Do your laundry'," she was muttering. "A couple years ago you did this stuff for me. What happened to that? Now I've practically wasted my whole day doing stupid housework. Stupid."

She grumbled as she stopped in front of the door to her room, observing the closed door and her full hands. She attempted to open the door with her elbow, then her foot, then trying to hold the basket in one hand. After failing each and every one of these tasks stupendously, she just started scowling at the door handle, presumably in hopes that she could somehow mentally will it to open for her.

Then a door on the other side of the hallway opened, and Miku turned around to see who it was.

"I'm hungry."

"When aren't you?"

"We should order pizza."

"We had pizza last night."

"You can never have enough pizza."

"Yes you can, it's unhealthy."

"Who cares?"

"Obviously not you."

"My point exactly."

"Ah!" Miku put on a smile. "Rin-chan! Len-kun!" The two had been walking in her direction, probably because that was the direction that the elevator was in. They stopped in front of her when she called.

"Oh, hey Miku," Rin greeted.

"We haven't seen you at all yet today," said Len.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, could one of you get the door for me?"

"Sure-"

Before he had the chance to do so, Len was stopped by Rin holding her arm out in front of him. "Ah-ah." She wiggled her index finger side to side. "What's in it for us?"

"Seriously, Rin?" Len sighed.

Miku's expression flattened. "How about the satisfaction of helping your dear friend finish her incredibly annoying chores?" she offered.

Rin snickered, then pointed a finger gun at Miku. "Ha, that's a good one," she said. "No." Then she grabbed Len by his sleeve and started dragging him back down the hall. Miku watched her do so with a bitter glare.

Len glanced back at Miku, then again to Rin. Then, in a single heroic movement, he ripped himself away from his partner's grip and pounced at the door. Miku took a quick step backward to make room as Len slid the door open for her, then proceeded to fall face flat on the ground.

"Ha ha!" he exclaimed victoriously, pumping a fist in the air. "I win!"

Rin snorted and folded her arms. "Well, I hope you're proud of yourself. Your reward is a facefull of carpet."

Miku turned the basket slightly to her left so she could see Len on the floor. "Thank you," she said.

"No problem," Len replied as he pulled himself back up to his feet.

"You know," said Rin, "you could have just set the basket down and opened the door yourself."

Miku scowled at her. "Shut up."

"I'm just saying."

 _"Goodbye,_ Rin."

Rin shrugged, then turned back around and marched away to the elevator. When Len caught up to her, she smirked, and whispered to him, "Hey, watch this. Hey Miku!" Miku perked. "Do you wanna play Mario Kart with me later today?"

"Huh? Sure, just as soon as I'm done with all this."

Rin started laughing, which caused Miku to raise an eyebrow. "See? She can't even stay mad for a whole minute!" This got Len laughing too, much to Miku's annoyance.

"Both of you get out of here!" she spat, and the Kagamines stormed off to the elevator, roaring with laughter all the while.

Once they were gone, Miku growled and trudged into her bedroom, setting the clothes basket down on her bed. She wiped her brow for no real reason, since she wasn't sweating, and sat down. Then her stomach grumbled.

"I guess Rin's not the only one who's hungry..." Miku snacked her palm against her forehead. "'I think I'll just skip breakfast today! What could possibly go wrong?!'" She sighed. "Well, I suppose there's always a chance that Luka _won't_ murder me if I take just a _little_ break..."

* * *

Teto tapped into her contacts, selecting a familiar name from under the A section. She held her phone up to her ear as it started ringing, and she leaned her head against the palm of her hand. Eventually she was sent to voicemail.

_"Hey, this is Akita Neru. I can't answer right now, but leave a message and I might get back to you later."_

*Beep*

"Hey, Neru-san! Just in case you can't recognize my voice, it's me, Kasane Teto~ Uh... I just wanted to check up on you, you were still kind of in a bad mood when you went home yesterday. I hope you're feeling better! If you're interested, you can call me back later, and maybe we could hang out? Only if you want to. So, yeah! I'll see you later. Bye!"

She tapped the "end call" button, then set the phone down in front of her. She was sitting at her kitchen table by herself, the sunlight shining through her broad windows and illuminating the entire house. Just about everything was pink.

Teto tapped her fingers against the table, casting a glance back to her phone. She made a small vocal noise, then scooped the phone back up, picking a name from the H section of her contacts. She was sent to voicemail again.

_"Hi there! You're reached the personal number of Hatsune Miku. I'm sorry to say that I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll try to call you back first chance I get."_

*Beep*

"Hi, Miku-chan! It's Kasane Teto~ Just wanted to tell you that I told my crew about the end of summer festival. Nobody's said anything about it yet, but I'll keep you posted. So... If, uhh, if you wanna hang out later, that'd be cool. Just drop me a line when you can, I know you're super busy and stuff. But, if you get the chance, that'd be great! Alright, that's it! Bye bye!"

Teto frowned in disappointment, staring vacantly down at the cellphone in her hands. Then she gave a mournful sigh. "Kasane Teto doesn't need friends to have fun. Kasane Teto can make her fun. In her house. By herself." After tapping her feet on the ground for a few seconds, she spun her chair around out of boredom. "All by myself~ There's nobody here beside me..."

* * *

Miku stealthily crept around the third floor of Vocaloid Central. There was somebody watching TV in the main living room, which meant that she couldn't get to the kitchen through there. She'd have to go the long way, around the curved corridor that circled the main living room. As much as she preferred shortcuts, she wanted to avoid running into people if at all possible for fear that they would tell Luka they saw her doing anything other than her chores.

Turned out that this was not at all possible, because the kitchen was loaded with the four of the people she wanted to see least.

Meiko and Kaito were seated at the table, Meiko looking over a magazine and Kaito browsing on a tablet. Around the refrigerator, Rin and Len were arguing about what they should eat if they weren't going to order pizza.

Miku grumbled. Where these guys were, Luka likely wasn't far behind. Not to mention that none of them would hesitate to rat her out. Well, maybe Kaito, but even he would break after a bit of questioning. Indeed, Miku had found herself in an undesirable situation. But her growling stomach was demanding. She needed food, and this was the only place she was gonna get it. She was just going to have to hope for the best.

As she entered, she was suddenly stricken by a powerful, warm set drafting from the oven. It wasn't helping. Her mouth was beginning to water.

"Who's baking?" Miku inquired.

"Me!" said Kaito, waving to her from where he sat at the dining table.

Miku blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it either!" Rin exclaimed.

Kaito set the tablet down in front of him, folding his hands together properly. "I've decided that I need to acquire more life skills," he declared, "so I found myself a recipe and followed it to a T!" He flashed a grin, forming an "OK" with his right hand.

"Now he just has to not burn it," remarked Meiko, causing Kaito to direct a grumble at her.

"Aw, Kaito!" said Miku cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "That's great! It's always nice to see people taking action like that."

Kaito's lips curled up slightly, his cheeks going a bit pink. "Ah ha, thanks, Miku-chan. You know, I'm always trying..."

"Ew," came Rin again, and Miku and Kaito looked up to see the look of disgust she was wearing. "I thought you two broke up."

"So did I," Meiko added, still fixated on her reading.

Kaito tugged on his muffler nervously and Miku scowled, but Len beat both to the punch before they had the chance to say anything.

"Oh, come on," he said, tugging on Rin's hair ribbon. "They can talk to each other without being romantic and stuff. Just because they used to date doesn't mean they can't still talk to each other."

"Pfft." Rin rolled her eyes, reaching into the fridge and pulling out a carton of orange juice. "Who still _talks to each other_ after they break up?"

"These two," said Meiko, pointing her magazine in the general direction of Miku and Kaito.

"And we're just as happy apart as we were together," Miku proclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "Isn't that right, Kaito?"

"Huh? O-Of course!"

Rin cackled, pouring her drink into a glass. "You know, Miku, I don't think there's anyone in this entire city quite as thick as you."

Miku snarled.

Then her stomach grumbled again.

"Is there a reason you came in here, Miku?" Meiko questioned.

Miku glanced sideways, fiddling with her tie. "As a matter of fact, there is."

"Interesting." Meiko turned the page over in her magazine.

"What are we talking about?"

Miku froze at the sound of this voice, the very voice that she was dreading to hear.

"Hey, Luka-san," said Len with the wave of his hand.

"Hello, Ken-kun," Luka replied.

"We're talking about how Miku and Kaito's relationship is weird now since they broke up," said Rin. She took a sip from her drink, then shoved the carton into Len's chest. "Put that away."

"Sure."

Luka turned to Miku, who was wearing that deer-headlights look again. She could have sworn that Luka narrowed her eyes at her, but it didn't take long for her to turn her attention back to the Kagamines. "I don't see what's so weird about it."

Rin shugged. "Well, it's weird."

"What's up, Luka?" Meiko asked, as Miku crept over to the refrigerator in hopes of finding the reward that she'd come here for.

Luka smiled. "Ah, yes. I have something to tell all of you."

"What is it?" Kaito asked.

Rin watched as Miku started browsing the fridge's shelves in search of something to eat. When the elder of the two glanced back quickly to make sure that Luka wasn't giving her any death glares, Rin set her glass down on the counter and leaned past Miku, snagging up all of the lunch meat from the drawer it was kept in whilst smirking maniacally. Miku gave an indignant gasp.

"I just got off of the phone," Luka explained, "with a customer. I've arranged a concert for us next Saturday."

"Nice," Len commented, stepping out of the way of Rin and Miku's scuffle as the former dove for the bread drawer. "What are we doing?"

"Just a small one at the southern concert hall," Luka answered. "It's for charity."

Rin was playfully dangling the bread bag just out of Miku's reach, pressing a palm against the latter's chest as she flailed her arms feebly. Then Miku's stomach growled again, and she froze. "You should probably do something about that," said Rin, and Miku's eyes burned through the smirking girl's with a look of unbridled hatred.

"That's nice!" said Kaito.

"Are we getting paid?"

 **"Meiko!"** Kaito scolded.

"What? I'm kidding."

Rin handed a plate off to Len, placing two slices of bread on it. When she zipped off again, Miku tried to grab the plate away from Len, but casually held it away from her, and she nearly ran into the wall.

"Next Saturday isn't very long from now," Len said.

"Exactly," Luka concurred, "so we need to start working on it immediately."

Rin took the plate back from Len and started slathering the bread in mayonnaise. She side-stepped out of the way when Miku hurled herself at her again.

"Well, I'm always up for a challenge." Meiko set down her magazine. "How many of us is it gonna be?"

"Just us six," said Luka. "That's what we agreed on."

"Alright then. Sounds like we've got ourselves a project. Nice catch, Luka."

"Thank you, Meiko-san."

Rin completed her sandwich with a bit of ham and a slice of provolone, cutting it diagonally into triangles. She kissed her fingers in celebration of a job well done, then lifted the plate from the counter, observing Miku's sorrowful expression. Miku groaned in defeat, banging her head against the fridge. However, she turned back around in confusion upon feeling a tugging on the back of her shirt. Rin was holding the plate out to her.

"What, did you think that was for me? You know I hate provolone."

Miku blinked twice at her as she processed this. Then she smiled, gladly accepting the gracious sandwich offering and affectionately ruffling the younger Vocaloid's hair. Rin giggled and readjusted her headband.

"Hatsune Miku," came Luka again, "did you hear a word that we just said?"

Miku paused for a moment, holding the hand that wasn't carrying plate over her mouth. "Er..." she said eventually, "Something about a phone?"

"Keh," Rin snickered.

* * *

 **On the next chapter:** Magic Goggles and Miku's Power Struggle

* * *


	4. Magic Goggles and Miku's Power Struggle

"Listen up, friends!"

"Okay."

Up on the third of five floors in Vocaloid Central, Rin, Len, Meiko, Kaito, and Luka were sitting in the main living room, staring expectantly at Miku. She was standing in front of the television, adjusting her tie to make it look neater. She was making it worse. Eventually she just gave up on it.

"As you all know," she announced, "we're going to be having a performance later this week."

"Yeah," said Rin, "we were there when Luka told us about it."

Miku narrowed her eyes, but quickly collected herself. "It's important for us to sell as many tickets as possible," she continued, "because it's for charity."

"What charity?" Kaito inquired.

Miku raised her index finger in preparation to answer, then froze. She held her hand over her mouth and looked to the ground thoughtfully. Then she put on a nervous grin. "Luka?"

Luka smiled, turning to Kaito and the others. "It's called 'Silicon's Cross,'" she explained. "The money we collect will be used to support hospitals across the city."

"Oh, that's nice," said Kaito. "Alright, carry on."

"Thank you, Luka," said Miku, and Luka nodded. "Anyway, like I was saying, we have to draw a lot of attention in a small amount of time. The concert is on Saturday, and that's less than a week from now!" She pounded a fist against her palm. "We're going to have to pull out all of our stops for this one. The songs, costumes, and especially advertising all have to be perfect! So, let's get to thinking. Who has ideas? Anybody?"

All five of them raised their hands, and Miku blinked.

"Uh... Meiko?"

"Do _World is Mine,_ " said Meiko. "That always sells tickets."

Miku nodded. "Right. But, I sing that at every concert! We need something new to draw even more attention. Anybody else?"

The other four raised their hands again.

"Len."

" _Remote Control,_ " Len suggested. "The crowd loved that one last time, and we haven't played it in, like, half a year."

"Got it. Good idea. However, we really need to be considering more than just the music. Remember? Costumes, advertising? We need something that will really get the fans excited!" Miku clapped her hands together twice. "Come on, people! Let's put our heads together!"

"Well, I already put a notice out on our blog," said Luka, "and we've gotten quite a few responses. People are already pre-ordering tickets."

"Good," Miku said, "but not everybody reads our blog. We're gonna want some posters, at least."

"We already have plenty of poster designs," said Rin. "We just have to throw the concert information on them and put 'em up around the city."

Miku shook her head. "No, no! We can't just use stock poster designs! We need to get creative! We need to come up with something bigger, something striking! Something that will _really_ get the public going! Something that will ensure that we sell out!"

The others were staring at her blankly.

"Don't all of our concerts usually sell out anyway?" Len challenged.

"You're not giving us much to work with here, lady," said Rin.

Miku's brow furrowed, and she mouthed the word "lady". She shook herself. "Oh, come on, you guys!" she exclaimed. "This is important! Doesn't the well being of our city's people mean anything to you? Don't you think we should put a little _effort_ into supporting them?"

"And here we go again," Meiko groaned, pressing her fingers against her temple.

"Miku, you're getting worked up with very little provocation," Luka warned.

"Again," Rin added.

"This is like the third time today," Len said.

"Well it's not my fault that none of you are taking this seriously! We should be putting some real time and thought into our work, especially when it's about something like this. It's like I always say..."

Miku was rambling. She was rambling, making exaggerated arm movements to emphasize her points, probably not even realizing that she was doing so. She was so caught up in her rambling that she didn't notice one of the room's back doors open. Everybody else did, however, and they watched as another Vocaloid stepped in, carrying a can of soda in her hand. She took one look at Miku, completely oblivious to her presence, and a wide grin stretched over her face. She set her soda on the TV stand and motioned to the others to keep quiet. They obliged.

"...after all, we made a promise in agreeing to this concert! A promise that we would do everything in our power to make money for this well-meaning charity! And if we can't carry through with that promise, then what kind of a role model would that make us?"

The newcomer crept silently over to stand just behind and to the right of Miku. She straightened herself out to try and imitate Miku's posture, and flashed a thumbs-up. Then she started mimicking Miku's movements, exaggerating her already exuberant arm motions and mouthing the words "blah blah blah". Miku took no notice of this, not even when the others started stifling laughter. Rin in particular snorted and covered her mouth to keep herself from chuckling.

"...Now I don't know about you guys, but I'm set on making a good impression. So, we're going to make this the best concert we've had all year, even if I have to do all of the work myself! And that's a promise, not to me, not to any of you, but to the people of Silicon's Gate!"

Miku finished, placing her left hand on her hip and pointing her right toward the ceiling. The Vocaloid standing behind her copied this with precision. Rin had to bend over and bury her face in her hands to keep herself from giving them away, and Len patted her on the back sympathetically.

Miku looked around at the others questioningly, their peculiar behavior finally dawning on her. The Vocaloid behind her lowered her arms, eyeing the girl with a suspiciously mischievous smirk. "What are you laughing at?" Miku questioned, as the joker behind her slowly leaned forward with her arms outstretched, eyes glittering in anticipation.

She jammed her fingers into the pressure points on Miku's sides.

Miku screeched.

Everyone else burst out laughing.

 **"Gumi!"** Miku shrieked, hugging herself as she swung around to face the girl who was now roaring with laughter. "What- What- When did you get here?!"

"About seven years ago," Gumi responded, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Or, did you mean something else?"

Rin fell off of the couch.

Miku folded her arms and scowled, her cheeks going pink. "That wasn't very professional of you."

"Neither was you going off on a tangent." Gumi took her soda back up from the TV stand. "I was just lightening the mood." She pointed her can in the direction behind Miku, who turned around to see all five of her friends still laughing at her expense, including Luka, though she seemed to be holding back. "Looks to me like I succeeded." As Miku grumbled in embarrassment, Gumi added for good measure, "Has anybody ever told you that you're super cute when you're flustered?"

 **"Shut up!"** Miku straightened out her shirt, watching Gumi take a long, smug sip from her drink. Len, meanwhile, attempted to help up his partner, who was practically dying of laughter on the floor. "Well, as long as you're here," said Miku, "maybe you can also succeed where these guys are failing."

"Alright, I'll give it a shot." Gumi pulled herself up to sit on the TV stand, and folded her legs casually. "This is about your concert on Saturday, right? I saw Luka's blog post."

"As a matter of fact, yes," Miku replied. "We're trying to come up with ways to sell more tickets for this show. Can you think of anything?"

Gumi took another thoughtful drink from her soda. When she lowered the can, she suggested, "Lower the ticket prices."

 _"Lower_ them?" Rin questioned. "How is that supposed to help us make _more_ money?"

"Easy!" said Gumi. "Our ticket pricing is always the same, and not everybody can afford them. But, if you lower the price, even just a little, it'll encourage more people to buy while they're cheaper."

Miku looked like she was ready to counter, but stopped herself. "That's... actually not a bad idea."

Gumi nodded confidently.

"But how will we make up for the money we lose from the lower prices?" Kaito asked.

"I dunno." Gumi shrugged. "Set up a donation box or something. Maybe more than one? That should work."

"Wow," said Miku. "Gumi, you're the most useful person I've talked to all day."

"Thank you, I try."

"Well, the preorders have been going for standard price," said Luka. "But, I suppose that we could mark them down once they're printed."

"Sweet," said Meiko, before turning back to Miku. "So, what's up next, kid? We need to put together a song list, right?"

Miku nodded. "Right, right. _World is Mine_ and _Remote Control_ can't carry a whole concert. Let's see..."

"If you really want to get people coming," said Gumi, "you'll perform a new song there. And stick it all over your advertising. That's what I would do."

"Oh my god, Gumi!" Miku exclaimed. "Where have you been all my life?! Hey, one of you go see if we've got any new material that can be ready by Saturday!"

"We'll go!" Rin volunteered, shooting out of her seat and dragging Len out of the room with her.

"I said 'one', but okay!" Miku called after them.

"I'm surprised that you guys couldn't come up with this stuff on your own," Gumi remarked. "I mean, haven't you been doing this longer than me and stuff?"

"I think the problem here is that I'm the only one taking it seriously," Miku growled.

"Wow," said Meiko, "Gumi must have some kind of superpower, because I've never heard Miku offer that high of praise."

"She's exaggerating," Kaito muttered.

"Obviously. You think I can't tell?"

"Well it's hard to tell with you sometimes."

Gumi was snickering.

Miku turned back to Gumi, expectancy glimmering in her eyes. "Have you got anything else?" she queried.

Gumi swished the drink around in its can. "Eh... I dunno. Three is the magic number, and all that jazz. Don't wanna push it."

"Is that your fancy way of saying 'no'?"

"Yes."

Miku rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you for what you _did_ offer, Gumi-kun. I suppose your incredibly rude attack on me wasn't entirely in vein."

"You and I have a very different definition of 'attack', Miku-chan," Gumi muttered through her soda can.

"Well, you attacked me."

"But I didn't though."

"Yes you did, you attacked me."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Can we _please_ have a conversation today that _isn't_ entirely moronic?" Meiko grumbled.

Luka smiled weakly. "Oh, they're just playing..." she began.

"We found something!"

Everyone looked back to the front doorway as Rin and Len rushed back in, the former excitedly holding a folder over her head. The Kagamines zoomed over to Miku, argued over who got to hand the folder to her, with Len coming out the victor. Miku responded with a simple "Thank you" and took the folder from him, looking over the contents curiously. "Hm..." There were a few documents inside, one with the lyrics and another with sheet music, as well as a sound file with the instrumental. She pulled the cord from her headset and plugged it in to give the tune a listen, the others watching her expectantly. After about a minute, in which Miku hummed to tune to herself as she listened, she grinned, and nodded.

"Yes! This is perfect. Good find, you two!"

"Yeah!" Rin exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "I did a good!"

"I'm the one who found that!" said Len.

"What world are you living in where _you_ found it?"

"This! _This_ world!"

Miku replaced the folder's contents where she had gotten it from, then closed it up. "Okay, we're gonna have to get to work on this immediately. But for now; Meiko, Kaito!" She pointed in their direction. "You're in charge of poster design! I want them ready by the end of the day!"

"Alright," said Kaito with a nod.

"Whatever you say, princess," Meiko muttered.

"Luka!" Miku pointed to the aforementioned. "You're in charge of the song lineup. Can I trust you to come up with something good?"

"Of course," Luka responded.

"Excellent! Rin, Len, you two are with me! We have to start working on this number."

The Kagamines saluted, chorusing, "Aye aye, captain!"

As the six of them started to leave, a short "Hold up!" sounded from back at the TV stand, and they turned to see what Gumi was on about. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Miku froze. She slowly turned her head to the ground as she considered what she may have skipped over. Then something clicked, and her head shot back up. "Ugh, wow, I totally forgot!" She slammed her palm against her forehead, before turning to Meiko, Kaito, and Luka. "We need to put somebody in charge while we're gone! With the four of us gone, there won't be anybody here in a position of authority."

"Has it really been that long since all four of us have been gone together for you to forget something like that?" Kaito questioned.

"Apparently," Meiko said.

"Wow. Time flies."

Rin tugged on Miku's sleeve, and the latter looked down at the former. "Hey, what do you mean 'four of us'?" Rin asked. "Aren't me and him just as important as you guys?"

Miku pulled her sleeve away from the girl. "This has nothing to do with importance." Pointing the folder she was holding to each of the Kagamines, she declared, "I am _never_ putting _either_ of you in _any_ position of authority. _Ever._ "

"Ouch," said Rin.

"It's not as if she doesn't have a reason," Len admitted.

"I'd actually argue that she has several," said Meiko.

"Double ouch."

"But anyway," said Miku, "we need to put somebody in charge while we're gone."

"Ooh!" Gumi practically flew off of the TV stand where she had been sitting, throwing her now empty soda can onto the ground. "Pick me!"

Miku ignored her. "I'm thinking Gakupo. He took over for us last time, right?"

Gumi slumped over. "Gakupo isn't gonna be here this weekend."

"He isn't?"

"No, he's going out with his friends."

"Oh." Miku scratched her head. "Well, crud. What about Leon?"

Meiko and Luka exchanged skeptical glances. "Eh," Meiko responded, "he's asleep too much these days to keep an eye on everyone."

Miku held her fingers over her chin thoughtfully. "Okay... how about...?"

"Me!" Gumi exclaimed, flailing her arms. "Pick me! I can be authoritary! Authoritative? Authoritative."

Miku started to look back at her in annoyance, but decided against it. "Seriously, can we not think of anybody other than Gakupo?"

"Pick! _Me!_ " Gumi stomped her foot. "I can be an authority figure!" Throwing a punch at nothing in particular, she added, "I can authority figure all up in this place!"

With that, Miku slowly turned her head to Gumi, who seemed to have instantly recognized how stupid that sentence sounded. "I am _not_ giving authority to anyone who says 'authority figure _all up in this place'._ " Miku mimicked the ridiculous looking air-punch as she said this.

Gumi snickered, standing herself up straight. "Alright, alright, that sounded terrible. But! See these bad boys?" She indicated the red tinted accessories sitting atop her head, and Miku tilted hers.

"Your goggles? What about them?"

"Goggles," said Gumi matter-of-factly, "resonate with authoritative power." Placing one foot against the couch and resting an arm on her leg, she declared, "Those who wear them have a certain air of leadership about them, which compels those around them to follow their every command."

Miku's brow furrowed. "Really? Is that so?"

"Uh-huh! Just ask Yagami Taichi and Simon the Digger."

"Now that I think about it," came Luka, "Gumi _does_ give off a much different aura than the rest of us."

 **"You're not helping!"** Miku shouted, and Luka smiled playfully.

The Kagamines tilted their heads in unison, observing Gumi's confident stature. Thanks to Luka's comment, that aura about her seemed to be more apparent. She was almost sparkling in the daylight shining through the tall windows.

"She _does_ seem different than the rest of us," Len observed.

"Magical, even," Rin added.

Gumi gave a boastful smirk as she removed her foot from the couch, and Miku stared at her with her jaw dropped in complete and utter bewilderment. "Ah, I'm flattered that you all noticed. Though I'm surprised it took you so long. But, I can't take all the credit... It is the goggles doing most of the work for me. After all, who else but the one with the goggles could radiate such grace and charm?" She knelt down, and Miku narrowed her eyes as Gumi took her hand. "Ah, but of course, who am I to say such things in the presence of one who can achieve these levels of perfection _without_ the aid of an object? Truly, I stand far in the shadow that is cast by our glorious leader..."

Miku ripped her hand away from Gumi's and whacked the gogglehead on the forehead, knocking her over. Rin burst out laughing again.

"On second thought," Miku said flatly, "we have plenty of time to think of this. We can worry about it later."

"But will you at least consider my offer?" Gumi queried from where she now lay on the ground.

"No. Come on everybody, we've got work to do."

"Yes ma'am," said Meiko and Kaito, and they left out the room's main entrance with Luka and Miku in their wake.

"Hey come on!" Gumi shouted, following after Miku. "Give me a chance! Goggles, remember?!"

Len glanced uneasily at Rin, who had that look on her face that suggested she was plotting something. " _I_ want authority..." she muttered under her breath. Then the girl nodded to herself. "I'm going to steal her goggles."

"Rin, no."

"Rin _**yes!** "_

And Len groaned as he was again dragged into the hall against his own will.

"Come on, Miku-chan! I can totally watch over Central for you while you're gone! I can make sure that those crazy kids don't burn the house down!"

"Gumi, I don't even trust _you_ not to burn the house down."

"But-"

Miku shoved Gumi into the elevator with Meiko, Kaito, and Luka. "No."

"But we'll talk about it later, right?"

"No."

"'No' as in no, or 'no' as in yes?"

"No."

"Just give it a rest," Meiko sighed.

Gumi stuck her tongue out in defeat and gave the fourth floor button on the elevator a poke. With a *ding*, the doors closed, and Kaito said, "Wait, weren't the rest of us supposed to go to the second floor...?"

Miku heaved a sigh of relief, then glanced back to see the Kagamines dashing over to her. "Okay, you two," she said, waving the folder she was holding, "we have to get serious about this. We only have a few days to get it perfect. So, can I count on you to work with me without causing a problem?"

"Of course!" said Len.

"When have we ever?" questioned Rin.

Miku rolled her eyes. "Good to hear. Anyway, we should- huh? Hello?"

The Kagamines looked at her curiously as she pressed her forefingers against her headset. "What's the matter?" Len asked.

"I'm being called from the front gate," Miku answered quietly. "Yes, I'm here. What is it? Oh... Teto?" She sighed. "Really? Well, okay... Send her in, I'll meet her at the entrance. Is that all? Okay, thank you." With a groan, Miku looked back to Rin and Len, who were staring wide-eyed with these stupid grins that indicated they knew where this was going. "Consider yourselves lucky," Miku grumbled, as she shoved the folder into Rin's grasp. "But as soon as she leaves, we're getting to work!"

The Kagamines waved cheerfully as she left for the staircase. "Have fun!" Rin called. When she was gone, she swung around to her partner. "Now's our chance! Come on, let's go find her!"

"Rin, this is a terrible idea..."

"Shut up, it's a great idea. Now let's go get those goggles!"

* * *

Miku stormed down two flights of stairs and nearly fell flat on her face when she reached the bottom. She then entered out into the enormous main entrance to Vocaloid Central, with the ceiling unnecessarily high up. Miku stopped to catch her breath, then skimmed around the room in search of her unexpected guest. It didn't take long to catch sight of the hot pink streak scurrying around and joyfully greeting every Vocaloid she passed. Miku shook her head. Then she held her fingers up to her mouth and gave a good whistle. This attracted the attention of everybody here, thankfully including Teto. She flashed a grin and dashed over to meet her friend.

"Miku-chan~!" Teto sang. "There you are! What took you so long?"

"Elevator was busy," Miku explained, scratching her head. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Without telling me that you were coming?"

"I did tell you that I was coming!" Teto said. "I've been texting you since yesterday. You didn't see?"

Miku paused during her thought process, then hung her head. "I haven't checked my phone since we went out the other day."

"Oh. Well, that's okay!" Teto grabbed Miku's hands enthusiastically. "That means I get to tell you everything I texted you about in person!"

"Oh, jeez, Teto, you don't have to-"

"Come on, let's go somewhere more comfortable! The elevator isn't still busy, is it?"

"Well, the others should be done with it by now..."

"Then let's go!"

Teto practically dragged Miku into the elevator along with her, chattering on about everything she had to say. "So I told my guys about the end of summer festival... A few of them seemed interested, but nobody's said anything about it yet, but I'm gonna keep you posted."

"Alright, that's good to hear..." Miku replied, pressing the third floor button and off-handedly observing that she was going in circles.

"I've also been texting Neru, but she hasn't written back."

"Well, that's normal for Neru."

"Yeah, I'm not too worried about it. But, I would like to try and find her tomorrow. I'd like to ask her about something." With an exuberant gasp, she continued, "Speaking of which! Me, Defoko, Ritsu, Ruko, Momo and Tei have a performance scheduled for later this month! Isn't that fun?"

Miku blinked. "Oh. Yeah, that's great. Er, we actually-"

"Have a charity concert on Saturday!" Teto cut her off. "I saw Luka's blog post."

"Of course you did."

Teto smiled. "That's one of the greatest things about you and your guys, Miku-chan. You're always taking action for the city! I admire you for that. We'd try to do the same, but we just don't get as much traction as you guys."

"Oh... Teto-chan, you don't have to praise me like that..." Miku pressed a hand against her cheek in embarassment. "Besides, it was Luka who arranged for it..."

"But you've arranged for this kind of thing before, and you're still taking part in this one. Don't sell yourself short."

"Right, you're right. Thank you, Teto-chan."

Teto simply beamed like the little ray of sunshine she was. "Anyway, like I was saying. Since we've got a concert coming up, we scheduled a little meeting just like we always do. It's on Thursday, at Defoko's house. But I figured, hey, since we already know all of our songs and routines by heart, why not just make it a little party instead?" Looking to Miku with a grin, she finished, "Which is why I want you and Neru-san to come with me."

Miku's expression flattened. "Oh. As in, me? Go to a meeting? With your UTAUloid friends?"

Teto nodded briskly.

"Eh..." Miku cast a glance to the side. "Well, I mean, okay... I don't have anything against them, but..." She clenched her teeth. "I just don't really feel _welcome_ around those guys, you know?"

Miku observed a twinge of dissatisfaction in her friend's demeanor. "Ha ha, well!" Teto quickly masked this. "Maybe they're not your biggest fans. But they'll never really like you if they don't get to know you."

"I guess... Well, we're kinda busy with a new song that we want to have ready by Saturday, but I'll try to keep my morning free for Thursday."

"Awesome!" Teto threw her arms into the air happily. "Thank you, Miku-chan! You never do let me down~" She wrapped her arms around Miku's chest affectionately, and the Vocaloid patted her on the back. "Ah, now I just have to track down Neru..."

* * *

Rin and Len snuck around the corridors of the fourth floor, stealthily seeking out their very specific target. Rin had caught Gumi traveling in this direction, which could only mean one thing.

"Okay!" Rin whispered. "Gumi's taking a shower. You keep guard while I sneak into the girl's bath and grab the goggles."

"Are we _completely certain_ that this is a good idea?" Len questioned.

"Yes," Rin replied. "Now keep an eye out! I don't want to get caught."

"Alright..."

Rin opened the squeaky bathroom door as quietly as possible, creeping inside and looking around cautiously. Gumi was inside one of the shower stalls, which was made apparent not only by the roar of water pouring against the floor, but also the peculiar girl's loud singing of _"How can something so enticing have such awful side effects?!"_

Rin rubbed her pinky inside of her ear, then darted over to where she could see Gumi's stuff sitting in a disorganized pile atop a lidded laundry basket. Her eyes flashed when she caught sight of the red tinge on top of the messily thrown down orange jacket. Rin snagged the goggles and bolted out of the room as fast as her legs would carry her.

Len was leaned against the wall just outside, trying to look as casual as he could while standing outside of the opposite gender's bathroom. He wasn't much succeeding. He quickly turned to Rin when she stepped out. "Did you get it?" he asked.

With a smirk, Rin dangled the shiny treasure in front of her. "You tell me."

"Nice!" Len exclaimed. "Well, you got them. Now what?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Len watched curiously as Rin turned away, removing her headband and strapping on the goggles in its place. After a brief pause for dramatic tension, she turned back towards her partner, and queried, "How do I look?"

Len was taken aback. He stumbled a bit, his eyes widening in surprise. His reaction made Rin cock an eyebrow. "Holy crap!" the boy shouted. "It's like I'm looking at a completely different person!"

"Really? Let me see."

Rin entered back into the bathroom, gazing at her reflection in one of the mirrors. She gasped. Len was right! Her reflection sparkled with that strange aura of Gumi's, causing her to stand out much more than she had before. It was as the entire world was casting a spotlight specifically on her.

She darted back into the hallway. "Oh wow. Oh wow oh wow oh wow." She gave the biggest grin, exchanging a glance with Len. "This is amazing! I... I _feel_ amazing! Like I could do anything!"

"You _look_ like you could do anything!" said Len. "Gumi was right... You _are_ resonating with authoritative power!" Rin watched with a gaping maw as he dropped to his knees and groveled before her, something that he hardly ever literally did. "I... I don't know how to react!"

Rin stared in astonishment. "Stand... Stand up," she commanded, and Len did as he was told. Rin recoiled. "This! This shouldn't be possible!"

The two drew in a breath in unison, and Rin tore the goggles off of her head.

"Could it be?" Rin questioned.

"These are..." Len began.

 _"Magic goggles?!"_ both Kagamines finished.

Then the bathroom door slammed open behind them, startling the two as each gave an undignified shriek. Here stood Gumi, looking as smug as ever, her body soaking and a towel wrapped around her torso. "Enjoying yourselves?"

The Kagamines screamed, and Rin chucked the goggles at her defensively. Gumi snatched them out of the air, then watching the two smaller Vocaloids hug one another fear. "Ah," Gumi said. "So they overpowered you? I can't say I'm surprised. After all..." She affixed the goggles back to their rightful place upon her bright green head. "...their power was never meant for the world of the living."

The Kagamines shared another unified gasp, observing the powerful sparkly aura return to its rightful owner. It suited Gumi much better than it did Rin.

"She wields their power so masterfully!" Rin exclaimed.

"So Gumi is the Chosen One!" Len concluded.

Gumi stood proudly with her hands on her hips as the two bowed before her, chanting, "All heil the Chosen One!"

"Heh heh! Yeah, all heil me!"

Then the towel untied itself and dropped to the floor.

"Oops."

Len averted his eyes fearfully, covering his face with his hands. However, Rin's brow furrowed. "Hey, wait a minute!" she said, and Len gave a peek for curiosity's sake.

Gumi was still wearing her undershirt and shorts, both of which were sopping wet.

"You took a shower in your clothes?" Len questioned in bewilderment.

Gumi simply shrugged. "What can I say? I like to keep the whole package fresh."

* * *

 **On the next chapter:** Neru Needs to Calm Down and Somebody Should Really Get Miku a Drink or Something


	5. Neru Needs to Calm Down and Somebody Should Really Get Miku a Drink or Something

Akita Neru sat grumpily with her cheek resting on her palm, staring into her cellphone and completely ignoring the bright morning sunlight. She was at a table outside of the cafe where she met with Teto and Miku on Saturdays. However, it wasn't Saturday, and she was waiting for somebody else. Much to Neru's annoyance, but not to her surprise, somebody else was late. At least she, unlike Miku, had the decency to tell Neru that she was running behind.

_[I'm really sorry, Neru. I'll be there as soon as I can.]_

_[You'd better be, or I'm making you pay my bill.]_

_[I'll have the money ready.]_

Neru may have been used to this, but that didn't make it any better. It was no secret that she didn't like waiting, and her friend tested her patience nearly every single day, to the point that her actually showing up on time was a feat worth celebration. They had even tried setting the meeting time ahead an hour, and she _still_ somehow managed to be insufferably late.

Neru poked the chocolate cake sitting in front of her with her fork. She wasn't really hungry, but food passed the time, and she wasn't the one paying for it anyway. She was grateful for this, considering her nearly empty wallet. What a pain. She hated being broke. At least now she could make an effort to correct it.

She checked the time. Fifteen minutes late. If she showed up anytime within the next five minutes, Neru might not completely flip out on her. But that was unlikely.

"N-N-Neru-san!"

Six minutes later, Neru heard her name being called from up the street. The looked up half-heartedly from her cake with only one eye open to see Yowane Haku running over to meet her, bumping into someone on the way and stumbling over her apology. Neru rolled her eyes.

"G-G-Good morning, Neru-san," Haku greeted nervously, fumbling around with her wallet.

"What's so great about it?"

Haku placed 300 yen down on the table and gave a sigh. "I'm really, really sorry, again. It's just that I forgot to renew my subway card, and-"

"I don't need to hear your excuses." Neru waved her fork dismissively.

"Oh." Haku stared vacantly down at her friend for a moment, before realizing that she was staring and nervously slipping her wallet back into her pocket. "I, uh, I didn't keep you waiting for too long, did I?"

Suddenly, Neru slammed the fork into her remaining dessert, standing it upright. _"No,_ I just got here," she growled. Then Haku shielded herself with her hands expectantly, and Neru spat, **"Get a brain!"**

* * *

Miku stormed down the stairs from the fourth floor to the third, Chiptune nipping at her heels as she dashed into the hallway and past a pair of Vocaloids who looked at her curiously. She ran into the main living room and looked around. Empty. She crossed through it to check the kitchen. Also empty. She then stormed out into the ovular outer hallway and ran all the way around it until she was back where she started. Then Miku and Chiptune ran back in the direction they had come from, passing the same duo of Vocaloids they had passed before and crashing into the closed elevator door. Then they ran back upstairs.

No more than five minutes later, the elevator door opened, and Miku and Chiptune zoomed out of it, again passing the same now extremely confused pair of Vocaloids for the third time.

"Uh..." Yukari said, "What is Miku-sama doing?"

"She looks to be in a hurry," Ia observed, "but she doesn't appear to be getting anywhere."

The two watched Miku and her dog turn the corner into the outer hall again, and disappear out of sight.

"Do you think she'll come back again?" Yukari inquired.

"I'm not sure," Ia replied. "Why don't we find out?"

Both cupped a hand to their own respective left ear and leaned slightly in the direction Miku had left in. They stayed in this position for a couple minutes, before Miku reappeared from the opposite direction she had gone in and bolted again for the elevator.

"And there's our answer," said Yukari, standing back up straight.

Ia observed the dust cloud Miku was sending up in her haste and made a small grumble. Then, as Miku passed, Ia stepped forward and snagged her by the right pigtail. Yukari gave an "Oh!" of surprised as Miku dropped to her back. Then Chiptune tackled Ia's leg, though this hardly did more than make her stumble. Yukari bent over and gave the small dog a pat to ensure that they meant his master no harm.

"Hatsune-sama, are you okay?" Ia asked.

"Is something wrong?" Yukari asked. "What are you doing?"

Miku gave a weak grin. "Apparently, not learning a lesson about running myself to death."

The two younger Vocaloids helped the elder to her feet, and Miku dusted off her skirt. Yukari handed Chiptune to her, and she nodded her gratitude.

"But in all honesty, what are you _really_ doing?" Ia asked.

"I'm looking for Rin and Len," said Miku, scratching her dog's ears in an apparently stressed manner. "They're supposed to be helping me practice a song for the concert on Saturday." Her expression scrunched into a scowl. "But I can't find them! They're not in their room, they're not anywhere on this floor... It's like they disappeared off the face of the internet!"

Ia and Yukari exchanged glances. "I don't believe I've seen them," said Ia. "Have you?"

Yukari shook her head, then looked back to Miku. "Are you sure you've looked all over Central?"

"Yes!" Miku confirmed with a short nod. "Oh, I just can't believe those two... They're probably playing some stupid prank, but they're making me worry..."

"Miku-sama..." Yukari sighed.

Ia scratched her head, then placed her hands on her hips. "Very well then, Hatsune-sama. Yukarin and I will help you find your Kagamines."

"You will?"

Ia looked to Yukari, who nodded. Ia nodded too. "Yeah," said Yukari. "We don't have anything better to do."

"And this does not appear to be good for your health," Ia added.

Chiptune yipped his agreement.

Before Miku could say anything further in response, each of the two girls grabbed one of her arms and started dragging her towards the elevator.

"Don't worry, Hatsune-sama! Leave everything to us!"

"You're under enough stress as it is with the concert coming up. Miku-sama should go out and get some fresh air while we do the work for her."

Yukari gave the elevator button a poke, and the doors opened. She and Ia released Miku's arms and gave her back a good push. She stumbled into the elevator, with Chiptune in her wake. "You two are life savers," Miku sighed. "The Kagamines can be a real handful. Er..." She waved her hand nervously. "If you don't find them... which, I hope you do... don't hesitate to tell the Captchaloids, okay?"

"We'll keep that in mind," said Ia.

"We'll do our best to find the Kagamines," said Yukari, "and if we don't..."

"No, we will," Ia insisted. "They shall be waiting here for upon your return!"

"Uh. Right," Yukari concurred uncertainly.

They waved goodbye as the doors closed and the elevator moved on for the first floor.

"Do we actually know anything about the Kagamines?" Ia questioned.

"Not really," Yukari answered.

* * *

Neru and Haku walked down the streets of downtown Silicon's Gate side by side in the direction ofVocaloid Central. This, however, was not their destination. Haku glanced to her friend every now and then to see if she was still staring at her phone. She was. Haku wasn't even entirely sure what it was that Neru could have been doing on there without any data. Then again, Neru always seemed to find some sort of excuse to keep her attentions fixed to that screen. Haku looked away, trying not to make it obvious that Neru's actions were bothering her. She must have failed pretty miserably, because Neru noticed the second she looked up that Haku was shying away.

With a sigh, Neru put her phone to sleep and hid it inside her pocket. "So," she said, and Haku glanced down at her, "what is this place we're going to, again?"

"Oh." Haku replied, "Well, its nothing special, really. Just a convenience store that happens to get a lot of business because of the location."

"Right. And how did you find out that it's hiring?"

"My brother suggested it to me."

"Uh-huh."

The two walked in silence for a few moments, observing the local architecture or the cars running up and down the street, each and every one of which seemed to have somewhere to be.

"You know, I hear a lot about your brother," Neru eventually said, "but I haven't actually met him before."

Haku nodded. "Well, he lives on the other side of the city. We mostly only talk to each other through e-mail. But..." She smiled slightly, her gaze wandering off who knows where. "...he stops by sometimes to check up on me, usually without warning."

"That sounds annoying."

"W-What? Oh, no, Neru, you've got it all wrong! He just..."

There was an unsure pause, during which Neru raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Haku bit her lip, before finishing, "He cares."

Neru stared up at Haku for a moment, considering what she had said. Then Neru begrudgingly allowed a small smile to settle on her face. "I'd like to meet him sometime," she said.

Haku looked surprised, but only slightly so. "Ah. If that's the case, then, I'm sure we could arrange for something."

"Cool. But, let's stay focused on the task at hand for the time being."

"Right. Speaking of which, we should be almost there."

It was a largish building with clean brown walls and a bit of green trim around the edges. The large light-up title above the doors read _"My Cart"._ In one of the large windows, there was a poster up that said "Now Hiring".

"Let's get this over with," Neru sighed, and Haku nodded in agreement.

*Ding Dong*

A digital bell complimented their entrance as the doors opened for them. The floors were smooth and swept, with friendly green carpeting in front of the entry. The registers were just a little ways away, and several shopping carts and baskets were aligned off to the left. Plenty of shelves and aisles filled the rest of the store, and much of it was highlighted in flashy green.

"'Just a convenience store'?" Neru questioned.

"I may have been misinformed," said Haku.

"Just a moment!" The two leaned slightly to the right to try and see down the aisle this had come from. "I'll be with you in just-" There was a crash. "-a moment. Oops."

Neru grabbed Haku's wrist and dragged her along as she went to go investigate. There was a woman with short, light green hair bent over in one of the aisles farthest to the right, fumbling with aluminum tins and tissue boxes scattered on the ground.

"Do you need any help?" Haku inquired.

"Huh? Oh no! I got it, don't worry!" The woman scooped everything up into her arms and dumped it onto the nearest shelf. Looking over her work and huffing tiredly, she dusted off her hands and glanced sideways. "Eh, I'll fix it later. Anyway, how can I help- Oh!" She turned around, finally settling her gaze on Neru and Haku, and her expression brightened. "You're Yowane Haku and Akita Neru, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's us," Neru confirmed.

The woman clapped her hands together. "Awesome! Thank everything, I could really use some extra help. Er- You guys are here for the job, right?"

_"No-"_

"Yes." Haku slapped her hand over Neru's sarcastic mouth before it could cause any problems. Neru swatted the hand away defiantly.

"Excellent! Um!" The woman glanced nervously back at the mess she had made. "Okay." She pointed to the two loids standing before her. "Can you stack shelves?"

Neru and Haku exchanged a look. "Yes?" Haku replied.

"Can you work a register?"

"Probably," said Neru with a shrug.

"Great! You're both hired!" With that, the woman shoved the two out of the aisle and darted into a room behind the register.

Neru and Haku blinked.

"Wait, that's it?" Neru questioned indignantly. "She didn't even look at our resumes."

"She seems pretty desperate." With a guilty smile, Haku joked, "She must be, to hire us."

The woman rushed back out, holding "Hi, My Name Is" stickers with the duo's names scribbled on them in sharpie. "Okay. Er. Which one of you is which?"

"Neru."

"Haku."

Each raised their hand slightly as they spoke, and the woman hurriedly stuck the name tags onto their shirts, saying, "I'll get you real ones as soon as I can. And... uniforms can probably wait."

"What's the rush, anyway?" Neru queried. "The store's not even open."

"It's supposed to be! But the only other employee had to leave on short notice, so I decided I would just close up until you got here... Speaking of which, Neru, if you could turn the sign over, that'd be great. And Haku, if you could fix that disaster in aisle 5, I would love you forever. Uh, right. We'll talk about work hours later... Your starting rate is 800 per hour, I'll bump it up if you do good. If you don't, then... I won't."

"Shouldn't you fire us if we don't?" Haku inquired.

"Eh, I don't have time for that. Let's see, let's see... Oh!" The woman stopped in the back doorway, and said, "My name's FL-chan, by the way! But 'Boss' is acceptable, too."

FL-chan slammed the door behind her.

Neru and Haku blinked again.

"Right to work, then," Neru muttered. "Well, as long as I'm getting paid..."

"I guess I'll go clean that stuff up."

"And I guess I'll go flip over that sign."

The two went their separate ways, Haku back into the store and Neru to the front of it. Neru observed with a lowered brow that the sign was attached to the outside. Did this lady have any idea whatsoever what she was doing? Neru stepped out and pulled the sign off of the window, figuring it would be better if she brought it in. But before she could do so...

"Heyyy, look! It's Neru-san~ Good morning, Neru-san!"

Neru slammed her head against the glass. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

* * *

"Kagamine-chan! Kagamine-kun! Where have you gone?"

Ia held her hand over her eyes and squinted, though she wasn't entirely sure what this was accomplishing, since there was very clearly nobody in this room. She lifted the cloth that draped the sides of the long, long dining table and peeked underneath it. Of course there was nobody there, it was much too obvious of a hiding spot. With a grumble, she wandered out of the dining room and into the fifth floor's main hallway.

"Come on now... Your sudden disappearance is worrying Hatsune-sama!"

Her luck seemed to have run incredibly dry incredibly fast. No wonder Miku had been running herself in circles, there was legitimately no sign whatsoever of where the Kagamines might have gone off to.

*Ding*

"Ia-chan!"

"Yukarin! Have you any luck?"

Yukari stepped out of the elevator, shaking her head solemnly. "I looked everywhere, including the places Miku-sama mentioned that she already checked." A small spark of worry glimmered in her eyes. "I take it that means that you haven't found anything, either?"

Ia shook her head in return. "No."

Yukari turned her gaze to the floor, grabbing the sides of her unzipped sweater an hugging it to herself. Ia rested a hand on her shoulder, tapping her foot and glancing around nervously. "This is hopeless," Yukari complained. "We should just tell the Captchaloids..."

"No, no. We have yet to expend all of our resources. We should not involve them yet." Ia took Yukari by the hand and the two of them traveled down the hall together, past the elevator and towards the front of the building. "Have we attempted to call them yet?"

"Yeah, I got their numbers from Meiko-sama. Neither picked up."

"Hm..."

At the very front of Vocaloid Central, on the very highest floor, there was a balcony. From here, you could see out over almost the entirety of Silicon's gate. At least, the lower half of it. It was a pretty little place to hang out, observe the sights and let the wind blow through your hair. Unsurprisingly, the Kagamines weren't here.

Ia leaned against the railing thoughtfully, Yukari standing not far behind her. Both drew in a deep breath, inhaling, then exhaling. "There must be something we're missing..." Ia muttered.

"The Kagamines?" Yukari joked in a pretty pathetic attempt to lighten the mood. It did manage a chuckle out of her companion, though.

"Something we're missing..." Ia repeated, her gaze wandering upward. A sudden sparkle gracing her eyes.

"I think... I think I'm gonna go find Meiko-sama again-"

"No, wait!" Ia waved her hand shortly, signaling for Yukari to stop. The former pointed up. "There is _one_ place we haven't searched yet..."

* * *

Neru lifted her head. "What do you want, Teto?" she growled.

"What do I ever want?" Teto challenged, grinning widely. "I want to talk to you, silly!" It didn't take long for her to observe the name tag on Neru's chest and the sign she was holding, and put two and two together. "Oh, hey! You're working here now?"

"Unfortunately," Neru confirmed.

"Cool! This is a nice place, I'm sure you'll like it here."

"I doubt it."

Neru went back inside, and much to her annoyance, Teto followed. Neru slapped the sign on the glass so that it read "OPEN", before realizing that this meant it read "CLOSED" on the outside and correcting her mistake.

"Kasane Teto?"

"Hey, it's Haku-chan! You're working here too?"

Haku nodded and watched as Neru grumpily trudged over to the register. "What brings you here?" Haku inquired.

"Oh, I drop by everyday!"

"Great..." Neru grumbled.

"But, Teto-san," said Haku, "don't you live all the way in the lower neighborhoods?"

"Mm-hm!" Teto nodded. "But I like the walk up, and I usually get to meet Miku or one of the other Vocaloids while I'm here, so that's fun!"

Neru slammed her head against the counter.

"Well, it's nice to see a familiar face."

"Yeah! I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty in no time~"

Haku walked to stand beside Neru, and Teto excitedly ran in front of the counter. "So, how long have you guys been here?"

"Not very long," Haku replied.

Neru huffed. "Yeah. We'd never even been in here before until... what, ten minutes ago? Tops?" She looked to Haku, who simply shrugged.

"Ha ha. Yeah, FL-chan does kind of like to keep things moving. Well, it seems pretty quiet right now, so..." She folded her hands together, continually wearing that smile that Neru hated. "Did you guys here that the Vocaloids are hosting a charity concert on Saturday?"

"Yes," Neru droned. "It's kind of hard _not_ to hear when the Vocaloids do... anything."

"We, uh, can't attend, though," said Haku.

"That's okay! I get it. Do you think you're gonna donate, though?"

Haku clenched her teeth. "We, uh... can't attend because we can't afford it."

Neru had suddenly become very interested in a pen that was sitting beside the register.

"Ah, I see. Well, don't worry!" Teto raised her hand into the air enthusiastically. "Kasane Teto can afford it! Kasane Teto will donate on Neru and Haku's behalves."

"Oh my, Teto-san, you don't have to-"

"Don't bother," Neru interrupted. "She'll do it anyway."

"Yes I will."

Haku scratched her head. "Well okay then."

*Click*

The back door reopened.

"Hey, guys," FL-chan said, before catching sight of the girl standing in front of the counter. "Oh. Good morning, Teto-san."

"Hi, FL-chan!" Teto waved cheerfully.

"Uh, so do you think that one of you could go to the back and restock the refrigerators? It just occurred to me that I haven't done that yet. I'll show you where everything is in the freezer."

"I'll do it," Haku volunteered.

"Cool, thanks! It's this way, follow me."

As FL-chan led Haku away, Teto exclaimed, "I'm gonna go buy stuff to pay your salaries!" and zoomed off into one of the aisles, leaving Neru on her own. She stared blankly at nothing in particular, then gave a sigh of relief. She pulled up a stool that was sitting not too far from the counter and seated herself comfortably on it, leaning over with her cheek resting on her palm. She observed the little bell that sat across from her. She gave it a tap. It made a satisfying *ding*. She was already bored.

*Ding Dong*

At the sound of the doors opening, Neru lifted her head. She cringed at what she saw.

"Hey!" she spat. "Get that mutt out of here."

"I'm Hatsune Miku, I'll take my mutt wherever I want," said Miku dryly, gripping Chiptune's leash in her left hand. Her uncustomary response made Neru recoil in confusion, and Miku simply smiled. "I'm joking." Pointing back, she explained, "There's a sign that says small dogs are allowed in. I figured you would know that, since apparently..." She looked Neru over curiously. "...you work here?"

Neru groaned. "I've been working here for less than half an hour." Turning her head away, she grumbled, "Fine, you can keep the dog."

"Thank you."

Chiptune gave a grateful yip.

"Oh hey, Miku-chan is here!" Teto stormed back out of the aisle she had been in, carrying an assortment of bagged breads. "And Chiptune! See Neru, what did I tell you? I always meet a Vocaloid when I come up here!"

"Yeah, I believed you the first time you said it."

"Hi, Teto-chan," Miku greeted, and Chiptune padded over to sniff the UTAUloid's shoes.

"It's good to see you again! Of course, it's always good to see you again. But- Hey, Miku, what's the matter? You look super tired."

Neru blinked, then examined the Vocaloid in the room again. She did look pretty exhausted, though not in the sense that she usually was. She didn't look like she had just run a marathon, more like she had been suffering insomnia for a month.

"Oh jeez, is it that obvious?" Miku rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, it's just that... You know how Rin and Len are supposed to be helping practice for the song we're supposed to debut on Saturday?"

"Yeah?" Teto prompted, and Neru perked at the Kagamines' names.

"Well they're missing! Both of them! Completely disappeared, I don't think they're anywhere in Central." Grinding her fingers into her scalp in frustration, she growled, "Ooh, I'm gonna kill them when they turn up. What are they thinking? Probably just trying to avoid the work, stupid..."

"Ah, Miku-chan!" Neru lifted her arms off of the counter as Teto set her bags down where they had been and rushed to give Miku a hug. "Don't worry!" Teto reassured, as Chiptune attempted to wriggle in between the girls and join their huddle. "I'm sure they'll turn up. After all, how far could they have gotten?"

* * *

Ia glanced at the ground, five stories below her, and gulped. What she was doing was literally the exact opposite of safe. Maybe it would have been better to ask someone for help with this, or at least have gotten a ladder, but she would probably fall if she tried climbing back down, so it was a little late for that. She would just have to keep going. She was almost there, anyway.

Climbing to the roof from the balcony was actually surprisingly easy. All things considered, it probably wasn't meant to be that way, but the outside walls were slanted slightly and had many ledges for easy footing and grip. It was still very likely for one to fall to their untimely demise, however.

That, thankfully, didn't happen, as Ia was able to pull herself up without a problem. One she was on the roof, she huffed, and pumped a fist in the air. "Ha ha! I have succeeded!" She gave herself a high-five, stumbled slightly, and nervously started on to find who she was looking for.

She didn't have to go very far.

Hardly had she traveled before Ia stumbled across the Kagamine duo she had been seeking, fast asleep together upon the roof tiles. Ia heaved a sigh of relief. They were perfectly safe. Now it was just a matter of getting them down without anybody dying. Which might be a problem.

If she wasn't careful with how she went about waking them up, there was a high risk that she might startle one of them into falling, or they might resist her, and then she would fall, or they would fall- basically, likely worst-case-scenario was that all of them fell.

Ia wracked her brain. Maybe she _should_ call the Captchaloids. She had her cellphone on her, didn't she? Actually, no, she realized, as she searched her pockets. She had left it in her room.

Crap.

She was stopped from smacking herself on the head when she noticed Rin stirring. Ia took a step back as the slightly smaller Kagamine sat up and rubbed her eyes, then nudged her partner laying beside her. "Bro. We fell asleep."

"Mm? Five more minutes..."

"Nah, someone's gonna come looking for us. Oh god, how long have we been up here...?"

"Too long," said Ia, and both of the Kagamines immediately swung around to her, their eyes bugging in shock. Len fell back into Rin, who made a growl of annoyance and shoved him off of her.

"What are you doing up here?!" Ia exclaimed incredulously. "Hatsune-sama has been worried sick about you! Have you any idea how long you've been up here?!"

Rin narrowed her eyes, continuing to restrain her partner from embracing her. "Obviously not," she replied. She pushed herself up and tugged Len to his feet by the back of his shirt. "Now if you'll excuse us," said Rin, "we have to be going. Goodbye!"

Ia gave a "Hey!" as the Kagamines swiftly stormed off in the opposite direction. She followed after them, although admittedly she wasn't as agile. When she managed to catch up, Len was cracking open a window which Ia could recognize as part of the skylight in the mess hall. Both he and Rin had slipped through before Ia could even think to do anything. The window was still opened, so she dashed over to it, flinched when she saw the long drop to the floor, then mustered up the courage to follow. She landed her feet on the table, which rattled loudly, and then she fell onto her back. "This table is surprisingly sturdy," she observed off-handedly.

Rin cackled in distasteful humor. "Ha! She fell."

"You must be a genius," Len muttered. "Now can please get out of here before we wind up in any more trouble than we're already in...?

*Slam!*

No time for that, as the mess hall's double doors crashed open, and the Kagamines swung around to determine their new adversary. Standing in the shadows was a hooded figure, slack in stature, dragging a chainsaw just behind it. The figure wielded the weapon over its head and gave the cord a tug, causing a loud, continuous roar to echo across the room. Rin and Len each gave a shrill wail and gripped the other's arm, backing into the table and then scrambling under it.

Yukari turned the chainsaw off and lowered it back to the ground. "Well that was more effective than I was expecting it to be."

"Yukarin!" Ia exclaimed, hopping off of the table. "That seemed a bit gratuitous."

"Sorry." Yukari removed her hood, a small smile gracing her lips. "I just figured we could use a little scare tactic, and that was the first thing I thought of."

Ia sighed. "It worked, I suppose."

Len lifted the the tablecloth slightly from where he and his partner were cowering behind it. "W-W-Where did you even get that thing?!" he questioned.

"It's a prop from one of my song," Yukari explained, tugging the cord lightly so that the chainsaw emitted short, low growls. "It's harmless. Mostly." Looking it over, she added, "Although it would probably work if I put a chain on it..."

"Please don't," said Ia flatly.

"Anyway, I'll call Miku-sama."

"Right. And I shall fish the shrimps out from under their rock."

"No!" Rin shouted. "You'll never catch us! Never!"

Yukari cautiously observed the smirk that crossed Ia's face as she cracked her knuckles. "Watch me."

* * *

Teto slid her overabundance of bread to Neru's side of the counter, then plopped an oddly flavored vegetable drink of Miku's choice beside it. Miku watched curiously as the UTAUloid pulled out her wallet and began counting out the total.

"How did you know I forgot my wallet again?"

"Lucky guess."

Neru scanned each of the items hastily, taking a few seconds to figure out how the scanner worked and earning a funny look from Miku. When she was finished, Neru looked to the register expectantly. However, she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for.

"Do you know how that thing works?" Miku questioned.

"Of course I do," said Neru quickly, jamming a prominent button and flinching back when the money tray popped out.

"Maybe I should do that."

The three looked in Haku's direction as she approached them, with frost decorating her already silver hair. Neru considered asking if she was alright, but decided against it. Haku pressed a few buttons on the register and gave Teto her total, which Teto handed over alongside an additional 500 yen. "Keep the change~" she said cheerfully.

"Haku-chan should teach Neru-san her magic cashier skills," Miku chuckled as she took her drink off of the counter.

"Shut up, I could have done that."

"Sure you could have."

"Did you two find everything you were looking for alright?" asked FL-chan, who approached from the same direction Haku had and tossed a towel to the latter. Haku caught it with her face.

Teto and Miku gave a unified nod. "We were just scavenging, really," said Teto.

"Well, you know you're always welcome here," said FL-chan. "And so is Chiptune. Right, boy?"

Chiptune yipped excitedly, eyeing FL-chan with anticipation as she reached into one of her pockets and retrieved a small bone-shaped dog treat. She tossed it to him and he caught it out of the air, falling onto his back in the process. He stood himself up as if nothing had happened, shaking out his fur and smacking his little dog mouth even after the treat had been swallowed. Neru gave an "Eugh" of disgust.

"Treat our customers with some respect, okay?" FL-chan requested, making her way once again to the back door. Neru nodded reluctantly as she did so. "I'll be in the back if you need me for anything. Bye, Miku-sama, Teto-san!"

"Bye, FL-chan." The two waved as the door slammed shut.

Haku and Neru exchanged another quick glance of confusion, before turning back to the customers. "Is there anything else we can do for you?" Haku inquired.

"Nah, we're good," said Teto.

"Thanks anyway," said Miku.

Mere seconds after this exchange had gone over, a loud buzzing rang out from Miku's pocket, shortly followed by a ringtone: _"What did you see for this pastor (someday) who dreamed of the future?"_

Miku's hand instantly dove into her pocket, and she threw Chiptune's leash onto the ground in her haste. "Hello!?" she exclaimed into the mic. Neru, Teto, and Haku looked at her curiously. She seemed intently laser-focused on what was being said to her through the phone. Several emotions passed over her expression: suspense, then relief, then confusion, then surprise, and finally fury. She threw her phone back into her pocket without saying anything and snatched Chiptune off of the ground, making a bolt for the door and shouting, "Gotta go thanks bye!"

"Is something wrong?" Haku asked.

"No it's **fine!** "

"Do you at least want me to walk home with you?" Teto offered.

"Nah I'm good!"

She was gone hardly a moment later.

Teto blinked. "Aw, she forgot her drink."

"So go give it to her," Neru suggested.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that!" Teto took her stuff off of the counter, as well as the drink she had purchased for Miku. "Oh, and Neru-san, while I have you here!" Neru cocked an eyebrow at the UTAUloid. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in going to Defoko's house with me and Miku tomorrow morning to hang out with some of my friends?"

"Who's Defoko?"

"UTAUloid."

"And your 'friends' are UTAUloids."

"Yeah."

"I'll go if you pay me."

"'Kay. I'll stop by your house at seven."'

"Alright. See ya then."

Teto waved enthusiastically as she left the store. "Bye Neru-san! Bye Haku-chan!"

"Goodbye, Teto-san." Haku waved in return, while Neru unsurprisingly went to pull her cellphone out of her pocket. "Neru," Haku scolded.

"What? I was just gonna make a note so I don't forget..."

"Uh-huh. You know we're probably gonna have to work tomorrow, right?"

"We haven't gotten our schedules yet. I'll just ask for tomorrow morning off."

Haku heaved a sigh. "I wish I had your confidence, Neru."

"No," Neru responded, looking back to her phone screen, "you really don't."

* * *

In the main foyer on Vocaloid Central's first floor, Rin and Len were sat down beside each other with their heads hanging low. Ia and Yukari stood not too far away, taking turns making sure that the Kagamines weren't going anywhere.

"You see, Yukarin?" Ia was saying. "Once you set your mind to it, there is nothing you can't accomplish."

"Yeah, just as long as what you want to accomplish doesn't involve leaving your house," Yukari muttered.

"Hey, I climbed on the roof and you terrified two children with a chainsaw. I should say our day has been eventful if nothing else."

"True."

The Kagamines, meanwhile, were having a conversation of their own.

"Well, if we weren't in trouble before, we're in extra trouble now," Len sighed.

"Yeah, and it's your fault," Rin accused.

 _"My_ fault? You're the one who dragged me up there!"

"And you're supposed to stop me from doing stupid things. So good job."

"I can't believe you. Is this real life? Am I dreaming?"

"Unfortunately not, because I can still hear your stupid voice."

"We're gonna be so grounded."

"Oh come on, it's not like we're dealing with Meiko or Luka here. It's just Miku! She can hardly stay mad for a full minute. How bad could it possibly-"

In that moment, the main doors slammed open, and all four of them looked up in surprise. Here stood Miku, her expression stiff, eyes glaring all the way across the foyer and burning into the Kagamines. Ia and Yukari stepped back nervously as she threw Chiptune's leash on the ground, and the little dog scampered off in the wake of his master's rage. Miku stomped across the room, the Kagamines backing against the wall as she drew nearer, until they embraced each other when she was close enough to look down on them.

"The _**roof?!** " _Miku screamed. **"Are you _insane?!_ What the unholy hell were you doing on the roof?!"**

"Avoiding work...?" Rin squeaked out.

_**"On the roof?!"** _

The Kagamines shrank down under the weight of her fury. "W-We go up there all the time..." Len stammered.

"Are you **kidding me?! _That's_ where you two disappear to all the time?! What were you thinking?!"**

"That you'd never find us there," Rin whimpered. "Which, technically you didn't."

**"Because I thought you were smarter than that! But clearly I was wrong! What if you had fallen?! Then where would we be?! I'll tell you where _you'd_ be! Dead! You'd be dead! And then nobody would be happy!"**

"But we're not dead though," Rin pointed out.

"But you could be!" Miku dug her fingers into her scalp. "That's the point! You could have died! And even if it hadn't been the roof, just disappearing without telling anyone?! Anything could have happened to you as far as we knew! Ia, Yukari!" She swung around to the two she had named, who blinked at her. "Did you try calling them?"

"Yes," Ia confirmed, "and they didn't pick up."

"And then there's that!" Miku exclaimed. "Why didn't you answer when they called?!"

"We fell asleep," said Len.

"Why did you fall asleep?!" Miku questioned.

"Because we stayed up playing video games last night," Rin admitted.

Miku turned away from them, took a couple steps, and then gave a loud scream of frustration, which caused Ia, Yukari, and the Kagamines to cover their ears. **"Grounded!"** Miku whipped back around, pointing to Rin and Len in turn as she repeated, **"Grounded, grounded, grounded! Grounded! Grounded! Forever!"**

"Okay," the Kagamines squeaked in unison.

 **"Forever!"** Miku decided that her point hadn't quite been made yet.

"Okay," the Kagamines squeaked again.

With that out of her system, Miku pressed a hand against her chest while she regained her composure. "Well. Now that that's over." The Kagamines' grips on each other tightened as Miku leaned over, then loosened up again when she pulled both of them into a hug. "You're safe. That's what's important."

Rin and Len exchanged a look, before hesitantly wrapping one arm each over the older Vocaloid's shoulders.

"But you're still grounded."

"Aw."

Ia smiled. "There you have it, Yukarin. There is no roof that can stand between a woman and her love for her family."

Yukari's brow lowered and she looked to her friend skeptically. "Really? _That's_ what you're going with?"

"Yes. That shall be your life lesson for the day."

"Can't argue with that."

The two observed Miku and the Kagamines fondly. When Miku released her friends, she turned to Ia and Yukari and mouthed the words "thank you" to them. They nodded in return.

* * *

 **On the next chapter:** Teto's Weird Friends and Miku's Paranoia


	6. Teto's Weird Friends and Miku's Paranoia

"Hey hey, Miku-chan! Morning! How's it hanging?"

"I'm fine, Gumi."

"Good to hear. So, do you wanna go out with me later?"

"I'm busy, Gumi."

"That's cool, that's cool. Hey, I don't suppose you've decided who's gonna be in charge on Saturday yet, have you?"

"Not yet, Gumi."

"Alright. Well, I'm just putting it out there, I don't have any plans that day. Or at all this weekend. Whatsoever."

"Stop it, Gumi."

"Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada."

"Shut up, Gumi."

"Hey hey, where are you going? Are you going out with those two lady friends of yours? They're pretty cute. You're cuter though. Has either of them asked you out yet?"

"Oh my god, Gumi."

"And by 'ask you out', I mean, like, on a date. Not whatever this... What is this you're going to right now, a friendly meeting or something?"

"Go away, Gumi."

"So I take it that's a no? That's too bad. It's a real shame for someone like you to stay single. You already look great by yourself, but in my humble opinion, you'd look so much better with someone next to you. Preferably with some similarities to you. Like, a Vocaloid. Who is female. And has similarly colored hair-"

"I'm gonna kill you, Gumi."

"Looking forward to it. Well, have fun on your date! Oh, sorry, your 'friendly meeting'. In the meantime, I'll just be here. Hanging out. Not burning the house down, thank you very much."

"I hate you, Gumi."

"Love you too, princess."

* * *

It was another lovely summer morning in the lower neighborhoods of Silicon's Gate, where many small homes were arranged into friendly little blocks. On one such block sat a bland house of dark violet, with rather bland structure and yards. While the outside appeared practically insignificant, the significance of this house would lie on the inside.

The building was filled with the warm smell of coffee as a Keurig poured out a nice cup of dark roast into a large mug. This process was being watched eagerly by two eyes of separate colors: one red, the other blue. Momo looked curiously to Ruko, who was knelt on the floor in front of the counter, presumably to get a better view of her drink as it was being brewed.

"You almost done over there, Ruko?" Momo inquired, to which Ruko nodded in response. "Well, go join the others when you are. We should be starting soon." Glancing to the living room, she added an anxious, "I hope."

When the coffee was brewed and the Keurig gave its final few spouts of sound, Ruko gently lifted the mug away from the machine and rose to her feet. She ducked under the doorway as she left from the kitchen into the living room. This room consisted of a longish coffee table with a small couch on either side of it, a box-shaped television with an armchair placed in front of it, and a work desk in the corner, which was complimented by a black swivel chair. Defoko sat on the left couch, staring out at nothing in particular. Tei sat on the right, looking over a magazine that had the Kagamines on the front cover. Ritsu was sat upon a stool in front of the coffee table. The stool hadn't been there until he'd moved it there himself. None of the three so much as acknowledged Ruko's presence. Looking around, Ruko eventually approached the work desk and settled comfortably upon the swivel chair.

Ritsu was tapping his foot impatiently against the leg of his stool. "Ugh!" he exclaimed. "Where the hell is Teto?! We were supposed to start half an hour ago! What could possibly be holding her up for this long?!"

"Oh, I don't know," Tei responded, turning the page over in her magazine nonchalantly. "She could have stopped to pet a dog, or a cat, or a squirrel... Or she could have gone into a store because she saw something she liked... Or she could be talking to one of her friends... Or, you know, any of the other literally billions of things that can distract Teto?"

Ritsu groaned in frustration. "She's the one who called us here, and she's late! Honestly! I can't believe her!"

"Technically it was I who decided that we should have these meetings when we plan a performance," Defoko corrected dryly. "Teto just arranged where this meeting in particular would be."

Ritsu groaned. "Shut the fuck up, Defoko, I'm trying to complain here."

"Sorry."

"Alright, guys!"

Ritsu and Defoko looked up as Momo entered the room, carrying a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She leaned in between Ritsu and Tei to set the plate down on the table. "Help yourselves, but they're still hot."

Those three who could reach from where they were each took one, Ritsu nearly falling off of his stool as he did so. The cookies had caught the attention of Ruko, who carefully rolled the swivel chair over while still holding her coffee, and began staring at Ritsu expectantly. Ritsu sighed and handed his cookie to Ruko, then leaned over to take another. Ruko examined the cookie curiously before dunking it into the coffee.

"Still no sign of Teto?" Momo asked.

"Nope," Tei confirmed.

"I really hate that girl sometimes," Ritsu declared. "She's just so insufferable."

Tei rolled her eyes. "Where'd you get that one from, a word-a-day calender?"

"Shut up Tei, nobody asked you."

"You _did,_ didn't you?"

"There's one on my browser homepage, okay?!"

"Pfft."

Ruko took this time to retreat back to the desk.

"Um! Well!" Momo spoke up, drawing the attention of the others back to her. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem that she had thought through what she was going to say after this, rather attempting to break up the argument. "Uh... that is, Teto..." Momo's eyes darted away from Ritsu's nervously, only to be met with Defoko's, which was even worse. "She! Might! Have forgotten?"

"That wouldn't be like her to forget," said Defoko.

Momo was sweating. "Uh! Well! Maybe something came up!"

"Wouldn't she tell us if that were the case?" Tei challenged.

Momo shrugged slightly. "Well... maybe she's hanging out with Hatsune Miku!"

She immediately regretted saying these words the moment they came out of her mouth, as Ritsu's eyes narrowed, Tei's everything twitched, and Ruko looked up uneasily from her coffee. Momo's expression flattened. "Uh... yeah, I'll go die now, goodbye..." She then attempted to slip away back into the kitchen.

"Come back," Defoko commanded flatly.

"Okay." Momo obliged, sitting obediently in the armchair.

Ritsu gave another audibly annoyed grumble. "Dying might be the better option."

"If Teto is _actually_ with that Vocaloid right now," Tei's grip on be magazine noticeably tightened, "I will personally take it upon myself to kill her as _slowly_ and _painfully_ as I find it possible."

Momo cringed. "Now, don't say things like that..."

"Oh, stop it. This is a free city, I can say whatever I want."

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should...!"

Likely out of boredom, or perhaps in an attempt to ignore the conversation going on around her, Ruko pushed her feet against the wall, causing the swivel chair to roll a couple feet back. When it stopped, she instead opted to just make the thing spin around in dizzying circles. Miraculously, the coffee did not spill even a drop throughout this process.

"Look!" Ritsu spoke up again. "Why don't we just come to an agreement? If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that none of us here like Hatsune Miku. Am I right?"

Tei nodded sharply. "You can say that again."

"Hm," was Defoko's only response.

Ruko was too busy with swivel chair and coffee to provide an answer.

"I don't have anything against Hatsune Miku," Momo proclaimed.

Ritsu turned back slightly to address her. "Yes, but do you _like_ her?"

Momo held her hand to her chin thoughtfully as she contemplated this. "Um... Well, I guess... Not especially..."

"My point exactly."

"Teto likes Hatsune Miku," Defoko said.

"Teto likes everybody," Tei replied.

"That's true," Defoko noted.

"Besides, Teto isn't here," said Ritsu. "...unfortunately. Why don't we just start without her?"

"Why don't we just go home?" Tei suggested snotily.

"I actually kind of like that idea. Hey, Ruko!" She looked up when Ritsu called her name. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sick of waiting." Ruko nodded and stood up.

"Wha- Hey!" Momo exclaimed. "You guys can't just leave! Ruko, sit back down!" Ruko shrugged and did as she was told.

"No, Ruko, stand back up," Ritsu commanded, and Ruko gave a sigh of confusion. "Look, Momo. I'm bored! Tei's bored, Defoko's bored, Ruko is probably bored..."

"Actually, I-"

"Unless Teto walks in literally within the next second..." Ruko grumbled when Ritsu cut her off. "...then we're going home!"

All five of them looked expectantly to the door.

Nothing happened.

Ritsu smirked. "Well then. I guess we'll be on our-"

And _that_ was when the door decided to open.

"Hey guys~!" Teto sang. "Sorry I'm late! I would have called, but I forgot to charge my phone last night."

Tei groaned and fell back against the couch, and Ritsu facepalmed. Ruko just seemed grateful that she didn't have to get up now.

"Teto-chan!" Momo greeted. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, Neru forgot to get up on time," Teto explained with a wave of her hand, "and we had to wait for her to get ready."

"Who the fuck is Neru?" Ritsu questioned.

"Who the fuck is _we?"_ Tei added.

"Huh? Oh." Much to the confusion of the others, Teto ducked back outside, calling, "Come on, you two! You don't need an invitation, you've already got one!" When she came back in, she was followed by a sleepy looking Boukaloid, who looked at the five strange UTAUloids with a raised eyebrow. The UTAUloids raised theirs right back. "You too, come on!" Teto exclaimed, and was met by a shouted response that none of the others could make out very well.

When the third of the visitors entered, everyone except for Defoko recoiled. Here stood none other than Hatsune Miku herself, looking extremely uncomfortable. The reaction her arrival had received certainly didn't help.

The first one to speak was unfortunately Ritsu.

"What the hell, Teto?" he questioned.

The chimera in the room responded to this with nothing other than her signature smile. "Ladies and gent," she said, stepping aside so to give the spotlight to her companions, "and Ruko. Allow me to formally introduce you to my good friend Akita Neru!"

"'Sup." Neru waved a hand nonchalantly.

"And of course, you already know Miku."

The Vocaloid gritted her teeth in what was probably supposed to be a smile as she tried and failed to mimic Neru's waving motion.

"Unfortunately," Tei muttered almost inaudibly.

"Miku," said Teto, placing a hand on her quivering friend's shoulder, "you remember Ritsu, Ruko, Momo, Defoko, and Tei, right?"

"Uh." Miku's eyes darted around the room. "Yes? Er, I mean, yes! Yes. I remember all of your UTAUloid friends, yes. Yes."

"Great! Then that means I only have to introduce Neru."

Teto left Miku in favor of grabbing Neru by the wrist and dragging her further into the room. Miku was left alone with five pair of UTAUloid eyes staring through her, much to her terror.

"Neru," said Teto, dashing over and indicating the one on the stool, "this is Namine Ritsu!" She wrapped an arm over his shoulder, causing him to slowly redirect his glare in her direction. "We were programmed by the same group of humans, so we're sort of like siblings!"

"No we're not," said Ritsu dryly.

"I said 'sort of'." Ritsu rolled his eyes as Teto went back over to Neru. She half-whispered, "Don't mind him when he's grumpy. He's just got a bit of a Napoleon Complex."

Tei gave a snort of suppressed laughter.

"I can hear you," said Ritsu indignantly, "and I'm not that short!"

"Sure you're not," Tei chuckled, and Ritsu again moved his glare to her this time.

Neru seemed to have taken something completely away from what Teto had told her, however, judging by her expression of confusion and a little shock. "Wait a minute-" She grabbed Teto's arm and pulled her closer, and Teto looked to Neru curiously as she indicated Ritsu with her free hand. "That's a _dude?"_

"I can still hear you!"

Teto simply nodded, and Neru looked back over Ritsu with a lowered brow. Everything about him screamed feminine, from the long hair, to the dress and heels, to the bulge on his chest area. After drawing her head back slightly, Neru looked back to Teto and said simply, "Coulda fooled me."

"That's what I was going for, blondestick," Ritsu growled.

Neru looked ready for a counter attack, but Teto dragged her away again before she could spit it out.

"Anyway! That's enough of him." Teto led Neru around to the back of the room, where Ruko was still messing with the swivel chair. "This is Yokune Ruko! Say hi, Ruko."

"Hi, Ruko," said Ruko.

"Ha!" Teto laughed, patting Ruko on the head in a humored manor. "Such a kidder. Always the life of the party, aren't you, Ruko?"

Ruko shrugged as she looked back to her coffee.

Neru didn't respond, rather took the duration of this exchange to examine Ruko with a flat look. "Is _this one_ a girl?" she asked eventually.

"Eh..." Teto glanced to the side. "Sort of."

"What does _'sort of'_ mean?"

"I'll tell you later. Oh hey, Ruko was made by the same people as me and Ritsu, too! Isn't that fun?"

"Uh-huh."

"And, speaking of which!" Teto pointed around Ritsu to Tei. "That's Sukone Tei. Also our sort-of-sibling."

"Stop using that comparison," said Ritsu.

"Is _that_ one a girl?" Neru inquired.

"Yes," said Tei. "Unlike these freaks, I'm not a freak."

"Oh, yeah," said Ritsu, "you're not freaky at all, miss 'I will personally take it upon myself to kill her as slowly and painfully as possible.'"

Tei chucked her magazine at his face, knocking him off of the stool.

"Ow!"

Neru and Teto blinked in unison. "Welp, that was a pretty accurate first impression," said Teto, "so... Next!" She pushed Neru over to the armchair, where Momo was apparently contemplating whether or not to help Ritsu up. "This is Momone Momo!" Teto introduced.

Momo immediately sprung out of her chair the moment she realized it was her turn. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Akita-san," she said, bowing to Neru formally.

"Uh." Neru took a step back. "Just 'Neru' is fine, thanks."

Momo nodded. "If that's what you'd prefer."

"It is."

"Then I will take that into consideration."

Neru gave a thumbs-up. "Cool."

"And, finally..." Teto snagged Neru by the hair this time, causing the Boukaloid to give a disgruntled groan. She was brought this time over to the left couch. Defoko still sat here, staring vacantly at Miku as she had been for the past few minutes. Miku was completely stiff, meeting Defoko's gaze uncertainly with sweat forming over her brow, also having not moved an inch. Teto looked from Defoko to Miku and to Defoko again, before grabbing Defoko's head and forcibly turning it towards her and Neru. "This is Utane Uta!" said Teto. "But we call her Defoko, and so can you."

"'Kay," said Neru. She looked down at Defoko, who looked back up at her the same way she had been eyeing Miku. "Uh. Hi."

"Hello," Defoko responded.

Neru's brow furrowed.

"And that's everybody!" Teto exclaimed enthusiastically, throwing her hands into the air. "Now that everybody knows everybody, let's get this party started!"

Momo started clapping. Everybody else was just kind of staring.

"Er, just one question, Teto," said Ritsu, as he climbed back up onto his stool. He sat himself down and crossed his legs. "What are those two _doing_ here?"

"Ah." Teto lifted her index finger. "Well, I wanted you all to meet Neru! And I wanted you to re-meet Miku. And I figured, what better time than when we're all together like this?"

"But this is a meeting," Tei pointed out, "for us UTAUloids. So we can plan our concert. There shouldn't be other loids here." She spat the last sentence bitterly.

Teto rolled her eyes. "Pfft. The only thing we ever really do during these things is sit around and eat cookies. Ooh, speaking of..." She took a couple of cookies off of the plate, handing one to Neru, who took it cautiously. Taking a bite out of hers, Teto continued with her mouth full, "So, y'know. Might as well make it a little party, right?"

Ritsu narrowed his eyes at her. "So you brought Hatsune Miku," he said flatly, "and some sort of street urchin here?"

"Says the crossdresser in drag," Neru growled. "Shouldn't you be posing for perverts in a night club or something?"

Ritsu's eyes practically bugged out of his face. "Why, you little-" He made a move to leap at her, and Neru stepped back when Ruko sprung out of her seat to pin Ritsu down what remained of her coffee spilling onto the floor. The two made an earth-shaking **_thud_** when they landed face-first on the ground. Tei gave a humored "Ha".

"What a child," said Neru, and Ritsu responded with an agonizing roar of frustration.

"Get _off_ of me, you oaf!" he spat.

"No," Ruko responded.

Miku glanced from the scene to Teto, who was still smiling, before finally inching away from the spot she'd been standing in since she entered and signaling for Teto to come over to her. "Teto-chan," Miku whispered, clinging to her friend's arm, "your friends... scare me."

Teto's smile became one of sympathy. "I get that a lot," she replied. "Don't worry! They'll grow on you." Patting Miku affectionately on the back, she turned her attention elsewhere. "Ruko, get off of Ritsu."

"Okay." Ruko obliged, and Ritsu started struggling to stand up the moment she did so.

"Defoko," said Teto, "don't let Ritsu murder Neru."

"Okay." Defoko slammed her foot on Ritsu's back, forcing him back down.

"Keh," Neru snickered, "I'd like to see him try."

Ruko attempted to help Ritsu to his feet, only for him to shake her off in annoyance. He trudged back over to the stool and sat down on it grumpily. Ruko stared at him expectantly before being shooed away again. Ruko then looked to her spilled coffee with a distant, grieving expression.

"I'll clean that up," Momo volunteered. Approaching Ruko and reaching up to pat her shoulder, she added, "And I'll get you a new cup." Ruko smiled slightly.

"In the meantime!" When Tei got up to retrieve her magazine, Teto shoved Miku over to the right couch and placed her on the seat next to Tei's. When Tei returned, she sat down, glanced at Miku, sneered, gave an "Ew", and scooted away from her. Miku looked down at the floor. "Everybody play nice while Momo and I take care of this!" said Teto. "Neru, sit."

"Mm-kay." Neru sat herself beside Defoko, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she did so.

When Teto started towards the kitchen, Miku peeked behind the couch, making a "pssst". Teto glanced back at her. Miku desperately mouthed the words "don't leave me with them."

"You'll be fine," Teto mouthed back.

When Teto was gone and Momo had followed, Miku slowly turned back around and swallowed hard. Everyone was staring at her again, except for Neru, who was staring at her phone.

"So..." she squeaked. "Uh... How about that weather we're having?" Tei gave her a look of exasperation, and Miku lowered her head, backing against her side of the couch.

"It hasn't rained in weeks," said Defoko. "There will be drought if it doesn't soon."

Miku looked at Defoko, nodding her head up and down in a repetitive motion. "Uh, yeah. That... wouldn't be good."

"The temperature is raising too," said Defoko. "Plants are starting to wilt."

"Uh... huh..." Miku responded.

"Soon it will be just a reminder," said Defoko, "of how meaningless and fragile our lives truly are."

Miku whimpered.

"That's enough, Defoko," Ritsu sighed. "I think we're all in awful enough moods as it is."

"Alright," said Defoko.

When Momo returned with a hand-vac, Ruko watched in anticipation as the spilled coffee was cleaned. When Momo was finished, Ruko handed the now empty mug to her, and Momo returned to the kitchen.

"So," said Ritsu, and Miku looked up somewhat fearfully. "What's it like? At Vocaloid Central, I mean."

"Oh." Miku glanced at Neru, who seemed much too busy with phone to be paying attention. "Well..." Miku's fingers wandered over to her tie. "It's pretty big, so... it's not a problem, how many of us live there."

"Uh-huh," Ritsu responded.

"And... uh..." Miku tugged on her tie until she was practically choking herself. "I mean, it's not _perfect_ or anything... it can get pretty chaotic when there's... a lot of us around. Even more so, depending on... who it is... specifically."

Ritsu cocked an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he questioned. "So... some of them get on your nerves, I take it?"

Miku's eyes widened. "Oh! Er, well, I mean, it's just..."

"Yes," came Neru, who had evidently been paying more attention than Miku had suspected. Miku scowled at her, but that of all things, Neru didn't seem to notice.

"Interesting," said Tei, glancing sideways at Miku. "Which ones?"

"Oh. Uh. Well, I don't want to... name any names..."

"Why not?" Ritsu challenged.

"You don't trust us with your _ever-so-important_ opinions, Hatsune Miku?" Tei asked.

"Uh. It's not that, it's just..."

"I see no reason for you not to trust us," said Defoko. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Miku backed even farther against the couch. "Uh!" she exclaimed. "Well! Friend! Is! A strong word, don't you think! I mean, it's not really something you should just throw around..." The UTAUloids were all looking at her strangely. "Uh, like, there's nothing wrong with just being acquaintances, right? I mean, I'd argue that there are certain situations where it's even better to be acquaintances. Plus, I mean, 'acquaintances' just really rolls off the tongue, ha ha, am I right?" Miku was hugging herself now. "Always been rather fond of that word... 'acquaintances'..."

"Is that so?" Tei questioned, and Miku turned to her. "I myself have always been rather fond of the term 'mortal enemies'."

Miku's expression flattened, aside from her eyes, which were practical dinner plates. Flashing a double thumbs-up, she squeaked, "That's good too."

"Hey!" came Teto's voice from the other room. "Does anybody other than Ruko want a drink?"

"I do!" Miku nearly screamed, as she shot up and into the kitchen. "I'll get it myself! In fact, I'll get one for everybody!"

When she was gone, everyone staring off in the direction she'd disappeared in, Neru briefly glanced up from her phone, just to mutter, "Freaking Miku..."

"Damn it, Defoko," Tei complained, "we could have made some good cash off of selling her answer to the press."

"Oops," said Defoko. "Sorry."

* * *

When drinks were handed out and the eight of them were calmly sat, with Teto thankfully wedged between Miku and Tei (Miku was tightly gripping Teto's hand for comfort), they agreed that _something_ had to be accomplished while they were there, and so pulled out pencil and paper and began trying to invent a song list. Defoko was holding the pencil.

"...Even those who pick up petals beyond the line..." Ruko was singing quietly, "...now."

Momo began clapping upon the song's completion.

"That was really good, Ruko," said Teto.

"Yes, Ruko," Tei groaned, " _thank you_ for singing your _entire_ four and a half minute song for us with little to no provocation whatsoever. Thank you."

"At least _her_ voice doesn't sound like a cat making out with a chalkboard," said Ritsu. "How do you even sell albums, Tei?"

"Do you _want_ to die today, you little twat?" Tei challenged.

 _"Enough,_ Tei," Teto warned, and Tei shrugged defensively, leaning back against the couch.

Miku looked around uncomfortably. She didn't know any of the UTAUloids' songs aside from a couple of Teto's which she didn't even know the names of. She was literally incapable of contributing to the conversation in any way. Neru was even less capable than Miku, but this didn't seem to bother her or her phone in the slightest.

While Ruko, her coffee, and her swivel chair silently retreated from the scene, and Ritsu and Teto went on to discuss what other songs they should perform, Miku found herself being addressed by Momo. "Have you tried the cookies, Hatsune-sama?" she inquired. "I made them myself."

"Oh!" said Miku, glancing at the considerably lighter plate of cookies, which she hadn't once gone anywhere near. "Uh, no. But, I will..." The Vocaloid leaned forward, her hand hovering carefully over the plate before she finally snatched up one of the treats, returning to a straightened position with it. Momo looked satisfied, and so returned to the conversation. Miku clenched her teeth when she looked away.

"How about Fukkireta?" Teto suggested.

"No, you sing that at every concert," Ritsu replied.

"Well then, how about TODAY?"

"No, Ruko is already doing a slower song."

"Okay, how about -ERROR?"

"No, I don't want to sing that again..."

"Alright, how about Nyanya-"

"Do _not_ even finish that sentence."

"Well, how about Thin Edge Inserted?" Teto tried.

Ritsu paused for a moment, before responding. "That might work. Tei?"

"I don't see why not."

"Alright. Write it down, Defoko."

Defoko scribbled the song title onto the paper in front of her.

"What about _Re;writer?"_ Tei contributed.

Ritsu narrowed his eyes at her. "That's _Miko's_ song," he said. "She's not in this concert."

"I figured you would know the words," Tei excused herself. "You listen to her enough."

"Shut the fuck up."

"You shut the fuck up."

Miku looked them over anxiously, then looked down at her cookie. She didn't have much of an appetite. She turned her head to the left upon hearing Ruko approaching in her swivel chair. Indicating the cookie Miku held, the UTAUloid questioned, "Are you gonna eat that?" After a moment of blank staring, Miku handed the cookie over to a grateful Ruko, then rested her cheek on her palm.

"Hey," came Neru suddenly, turning attentions towards her, "I have to be to work in like, and hour." She tapped her watchless wrist. "So, I should probably get going."

"Aw, already?" Teto pouted.

"I wasn't aware that anyone in this city was desperate enough to hire an ape," Ritsu slandered. "Tell us, have they got you working a typewriter or peeling bananas?"

Neru smirked ironically. "At least the 'ape' can get work. You're probably not old enough. How old are you, anyway? Six?"

Judging by Ritsu's downright infuriated expression, and the fact that Tei broke down in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, Neru had probably struck a nerve with that one.

"Uh, on the topic of leaving!" Miku exclaimed. "The Kagamines and I are supposed to be practicing our song for concert on Saturday! So! I should probably be going! Also!"

"Aw, alright." Teto stood up. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

"Yeah," said Tei. "'Fun.'"

"Everybody say goodbye to Miku and Neru!" Teto said as she grabbed Miku by the wrist to remove her from the couch. "I mean, it's not the last time you'll see them, but you probably won't see them for a while."

"Good," Tei and Ritsu chorused.

The others had less rude goodbyes. Ruko waved to them, and Defoko stared at them. Momo stood up out of her seat and bowed again, saying, "Goodbye, Neru and Hatsune-sama. May you be in good health until the next time we meet."

"Right..." said Neru. "Same to you."

"They don't really know the way around here, so just lead them to the bus stop, okay?" Teto led a continuously paralyzed Miku over to the door, followed shortly by Neru. "Keep going without me! I'll right back!"

"Don't hurry up," Ritsu called, as Teto pushed her two companions out the door and followed after.

"Privileged little bitch..." Tei grumbled when they were gone.

"Grubby bottom-feeder..." Ritsu added sourly.

"So!" said Teto on the other side of the door. "What do you think of them?"

"Eh," Neru replied. "All things considered, they're pretty much exactly what I was expecting."

"I'm just glad it's over," Miku sighed, finally allowing her body to relax from the tension it had been feeling for the past hour or so.

"So am I!" came a new voice from the streets just below, immediately causing Miku to tense up again.

 **"Gumi?!"** she screamed the smug gogglehead standing barely a yard away. "What?! What?! What are you doing here?!"

"I've come to walk my princess back to her castle," Gumi declared as she approached. "These neighborhoods are much too dangerous for a pretty girl like you to be wandering without protection."

"I think I would have been just fine, thanks!" Miku shouted. "How did you even know where I was?!"

"I read your texts."

"You read my texts?"

"I hacked your phone."

"You hacked my phone?!"

Gumi pulled a distinctly teal smartphone out of her jacket pocket. "It's really not that difficult when your password your birthday. I mean, seriously? You're the most famous loid in this entire city and your password is your _birthday?"_

Her eyes bugging, Miku searched around her pockets, discovering that she indeed did not have her phone on her. She made a very annoyed roar directed straight at the other Vocaloid who was holding it.

"But anyway..." Gumi tossed Miku's phone back to her, and Miku nearly dropped the thing on the ground. "I walked all the way here just for your benefit." Gumi knelt on the steps leading up to the house, taking Miku's hand in hers as she asked, "So why don't you let me carry you off into the sunset?"

Neru snickered quietly.

Miku tore her hand away and backhanded Gumi the forehead, knocking her over. "It's noon," Miku growled.

"Then how about I carry you off into the midday?" Gumi suggested.

With a groan of distaste, Miku stomped down the steps and onto the road, exclaiming, "I'm _so_ glad that all of _my_ friends are so _**normal!** "_

Teto and Neru exchanged glances. "Well, looks like she's got an escort," said Teto. "Still want me take you to the bus stop?"

"I didn't want you in the first place," Neru replied.

Teto shrugged. "Fair enough. See you around!"

"Yeah, bye." Neru pulled out her phone, discreetly pointing the camera at the two Vocaloids screaming at each other on the street.

"Come on, Miku-chan! You're a princess, I'm a goddess, you and I could make some real magic together!"

"Gumi, you haunt my dreams at night!"

"Oh ho, and just what kind of dreams are we talking about here?"

**"Aaaaaaagggghhhhh!"**

* * *

**On the next chapter:** The Gogglehead Wins and Miku Slams Her Head Against a Table


	7. Fire May or May Not Happen and Miku Slams Her Head Against a Table

The sun was barely up in central Silicon's Gate, and the warm scent and sizzling sound of bacon filled the third floor kitchen of Vocaloid Central. One Kamui Gakupo, dressed in an apron and humming a familiar tune, was tending to said bacon with a spatula. He turned his attention to another pan, in which several pancakes were waiting to be be turned. "Cooking Samurai. Hya!" He skillfully flipped one of the pancakes to the beat of his song.

As he did so, a half-asleep Hatsune Miku trudged in, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Gakupo glanced back at her, flashing a smile as he did so. "Morning, Miku-chan," he greeted. "You're just in time for breakfast."

"Meh," Miku responded, loudly dragging a chair away from the table to sit down on it.

"How did you sleep?" Gakupo inquired.

"Meh," Miku replied.

"Would you... like some coffee, or something?"

"I hate coffee."

"I wasn't aware. Well, maybe some good food will wake you up."

Miku smacked her lips as she opened her eyes groggily to observe Gakupo's doings. There was more food piled up than she had been expecting. "Were you planning to eat all of that yourself?" she questioned.

Gakupo shook his head. "Of course not! Don't be ridiculous." Raising the spatula matter-of-factly, he continued, "It was for Gumi and I. And whoever decided to join us, which looks to be you. Gumi was helping me, but she ran off somewhere saying she wouldn't be long."

"Mm. Sounds like Gumi to me." Miku held her hand over her mouth in a feeble attempt to suppress another yawn.

"Yes, she is pretty restless..."

A moment later, a loud crash came from the living room, causing Miku to jump. This was followed by a familiar voice shouting "I'm okay!"

"Ah, that must be her," said Gakupo, and Miku groaned, folding her arms on the table and burying her face in them.

When Gumi appeared in the front doorway, she was sporting a huge grin, and carrying something metal in her arms. "Gaku-nii! Check this out!" she shouted, enthusiasm pouring out of her like a waterfall. "Morning, Miku-chan," she added more gingerly, and Miku groaned another muffled groan.

"What's that?" Gakupo asked when Gumi approached him.

"Well, you know how we were talking about replacing the stove?"

"Uh-huh."

"That got me thinking."

"About what?"

"I'm not really sure! But somehow I ended up thinking about fire, because stoves use fire, right?"

"Uh-huh..."

"And _that_ got me thinking about flamethrowers."

"Gumi, are you carrying a flamethrower?"

"No! Well, sort of." Gumi held the contraption up for all to see, and Miku lifted her head cautiously. The machine had some sort of steel cylinder with backpack straps hooked up to something shaped like a gun. "It's one of my old welding tools! Isn't that cool? I thought I sold it!"

"Gumi, that looks like a flamethrower," Gakupo said.

Gumi paused thoughtfully. "Well, most of my old stuff _was_ pretty intense..."

"Gumi, you shouldn't be carrying that through the house."

"Oh relax, the tank's empty! At least I think it is. Wanna find out?"

 **"Gumi!"** Miku and Gakupo exclaimed together.

"Oh come on! I was joking!"

"Well it wasn't a very good joke!" Miku scolded. "Go put that back!"

"Oh, alright." With a smug smile, Gumi continued, "But only because it was you who told me to, Miku-chan."

"Do you ever _not?"_

"Sorry princess, I'm not very good at notting."

Miku slammed her head against the table.

"You know," Gumi turned back to Gakupo, "if we are gonna replace the stove, I could build the new one myself. It would be cheaper, and it wouldn't have to go as far."

Gakupo clenched his teeth. "Well..." he began.

"Gumi, if you're building a stove, it's certainly not going in this kitchen," came Miku.

"How about the one upstairs?" Gumi tried.

"No," Miku persisted.

"How about-"

 _"No,_ Gumi."

"Well fine then," said Gumi. "You can buy your own stove. See how that works out for you."

"I prefer my stoves not to explode, thank you," Miku replied.

"I smell food," spoke a new voice, and Miku turned slightly to see Meiko standing in the doorway.

"And plenty of it," Gakupo responded, "prepared by the master chef himself."

"The 'master chef' is burning his latest batch of pancakes," Gumi pointed out.

"Huh? Oh!" Gumi snickered as Gakupo rushed to remove the pancakes from the burner. "Uh... Hungry?" the samurai inquired.

"Ugh, starving," Meiko replied. "Skipped dinner last night. I-" She cut her sentence short, pointing to Gumi with her brow lowered. "What the hell is she carrying?"

"A flamethrower," Miku answered.

"I don't wanna know."

"Good choice." Miku looked to Gumi again. "Didn't I tell you to put that back?"

"But the food will be cold by the time I come back up," Gumi reasoned innocently.

Miku sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But get rid of it when you're done. And don't put it anywhere... volatile."

"Yay!" Gumi cheered, and she placed the definitely-not-a-flamethrower down by cabinet island storing cutlery.

"If you're not going anywhere, Gumi," Gakupo said, "why don't you set the table for everyone?"

"On it!" Gumi saluted, then darted over to the silverware drawer. Miku closed her eyes sleepily, resting her cheek against her fist, before Gumi returned and loudly tossed an assortment of utensils onto the table, startling her awake. Gumi sat herself on a chair adjacent to Miku's and leaned forward, wearing a smirk that Miku recognized all too well. The gogglehead wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Miku responded by exasperatedly standing up and walking away.

"Anyway, I, uh, fell asleep early in my room last night," Meiko explained as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I don't even really remember what happened, but... I have a major headache now."

"She's trying to say that she has a hangover without actually saying that she has a hangover," Miku piped.

"Shhhhh-shut up," Meiko growled, not really helping her standpoint as she pulled a bottle of hard alcohol and a shot glass from one of the higher cabinets. "Point is, I haven't eaten in, like, twelve hours."

Gakupo chuckled. "Well, I can't cure your hangover, but I can cure your hunger. Gumi, I don't think that counts as setting the table."

Gumi was attempting to balance a spoon on her nose. "Yeah yeah, hold on. I'll get to it in a minute."

Miku shook her head. "So, squirt." She jumped when Meiko placed a hand on her head. "Any idea who you're putting in charge tomorrow?" the elder of the two inquired.

Miku grumbled in annoyance. "No, I haven't," she replied. "I was gonna do it later."

"Welp, I hope that this 'later' you speak of is soon," Meiko said. "You'll run outta options. People do things on Saturday. They make plans for said things on Friday."

"Yeah, yeah, I know... I just need to wake up first..."

"I'm sorry that I can't cover for you tomorrow, Miku," Gakupo said. Pulling four plates out of a cabinet, he offered, "If there are no alternatives, I can cancel my plans..."

With a wave of her hand, Miku dismissed this. "No no, Gakupo, you don't have to do that. I'm sure I'll be able to find someone else..." She cast her gaze to the side. "Hopefully."

"Here, help yourselves." Gakupo handed a plate to each of the two girls. "If I can't be here tomorrow, I can at least help you make your decision."

"Who were you thinking of?" Miku inquired.

Gakupo looked to the table with a nervous smile before answering. "Gumi."

"Eh?" Miku questioned.

"Eh?" Meiko echoed.

Gakupo shook his head at their response. "Well, she wants the job, and I myself think that a little responsibility would be good for her. When's the last time you trusted her with something like this?"

"Before she became a psychopath," Miku answered dryly.

"Hey, Miku! Look!" Gumi called from where she still sat at the table, and all three of them turned their heads towards her. There was now a spoon not only stuck to her nose, but also to both of her cheeks. She seemed to be quite proud of this accomplishment. "Eh? _Eh?"_

Miku stared at her for a moment with narrowed eyes, before turning back to Gakupo. "Are you serious?"

"I'm completely serious," Gakupo confirmed. "There's not a doubt in my mind that she would be able to keep control of Central while you're gone if she set her mind to it." When Miku continued to look unimpressed, he added, "And there's not a doubt in my mind that she can set her mind to it if it means pleasing you."

Miku grumbled, her eyes scanning the floor. "Fine," she replied. "I'll _think about it._ But only if there are no other options."

"I hope to god that there's another option..." Meiko sighed.

"Thank you, Miku-chan." Gakupo ignored Meiko's comment. "I'm sure she appreciates it."

"Oh, I appreciate it." Miku leaped a mile into the air, swinging around to see Gumi standing directly behind her. She still had one of the spoons stuck to her face, which she promptly removed. "I also appreciate the fact that there _aren't_ any other options. But not to worry; when the time comes, I'll be waiting when you come crawling back to me." Gumi took a plate from Gakupo and utilized her spoon to scoop a bucketload of food onto it, then retreated back to the table. "See you then!"

Miku scowled. "I hate her."

"No you don't," said Meiko.

"No, but I _want_ to hate her."

"No you don't."

"You're right, I don't..."

Miku took a couple of pancakes and some bacon, then sat back down in the chair she'd been in before. She glanced at Gumi, who was halfway through the process of wolfing down her own meal, then Miku started poking her pancakes with her fork.

**"Incoming!"**

Everyone looked curiously in the direction of the side door when this exclamation emerged from it. Half a moment later, Nekomura Iroha and SF-A2 Miki barreled into the kitchen, Iroha doing a somersault and Miki sliding on her stomach. The two bumped against the lower cabinets on the other side of the room before shooting to their feet.

"The Nyan has arrived!" Iroha declared.

"Miki is here too!" Miki added.

The four who had already been here stared blankly at the new arrivals, including Gumi, who had paused mid-bite with the spoon in her mouth. Before anybody could ask what was happening, Miki and Iroha sped off in opposite directions, scouring over and under the counters and cabinets for who knows what.

"We're gonna need dis!" Iroha exclaimed, forcibly tearing the toaster away from the wall. "An' dis!" She used the now unplugged and traumatized toaster to scoop up a ladle that was laying around.

Meiko and Gakupo jumped out of the way as Miki zoomed between them, pressing her hands against the counter and looking around. "How about this? Do we need this?" She glanced back at her companion while pointing to the blender.

"Oh yeah, we're gonna need dat," Iroha confirmed.

"Okay!" Miki unplugged the blender and scooped it up, then dashed off again.

"What?! **Hey!** " Meiko shouted. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?!"

"Collectin' parts!" Iroha explained. "We told everyone on NyicoTube that we're gonna build the biggest, baddest explodin' weapon the internet's ever seen, an' we intend to uphold!"

"We need everything that we can get!" Miki added. "Don't want to disappoint NicoTube!"

"Wait, what?" Miku squeaked.

"Are you nuts?!" Meiko exclaimed. "Put that stuff back and get out of here!"

Iroha's brow furrowed, and she sniffed the air. "I smell bacon."

"That's 'cuz there's bacon over here, silly," said Miki, pointing out the plate of bacon on her side of the kitchen.

"Ooh, gimme!"

 **"Listen to me when I yell at you!"** Meiko spat.

Miki and Iroha looked to her blankly, as Miki held a strip of bacon out to her friend. Iroha grabbed it away with her teeth. Once the bacon was swallowed, she responded simply, "Nyo." Then the two scampered off again. Meiko groaned in frustration.

"M-Miki! Iroha!" Another Vocaloid stumbled in through the side door. "There you are!" Piko gasped. "I've been looking all over... Wait, what are you doing?"

"Utatane! Control your freaky friends!" Meiko demanded.

"I'm trying Meiko-sama, I swear I am," Piko said, "but they're just so slippery..."

"Yo!" Iroha shouted, as she and Miki zipped over to the island where Gumi had set her thing. "What's dis?"

"Oh, that's just my flamethrower," Gumi answered nonchalantly through a mouthful of food.

 **"Gumi!"** Miku exclaimed.

"What? Oh."

The toaster, blender, and ladle dropped loudly to the floor, and Piko muttered, "Oh no..."

"Yo!"

"Ooh!"

Miki and Iroha grabbed up the flamethrower excitedly, Miki holding the tank and Iroha handing the gun, which was probably best because Iroha lacked digits. "You didn't tell us you had a flamethrower, Gumi!" Miki said.

"That's because I didn't remember that I had a flamethrower," Gumi replied.

"Furget the other stuff, let's take dis thing!"

"Okay!"

Piko watched with clenched teeth as Miki helped strap the tank to Iroha's back. "Wait, no, girls..." he began. "You can't just take stuff without permission..."

Iroha snorted. "Oh please. We raid Gumi's supplies all the time."

"What?" Gumi questioned.

Meiko sighed. "Well, if you need something done, you do it yourself." She set her plate and mug down on the counter, then rubbed her hands together. "Alright, you two are leaving!"

Miki squeaked as Meiko started marching towards her and Iroha. "Quick, Miki-nyan!" Iroha exclaimed. "Execute escape plan #4C!"

"Executing!" Miki pressed the star-shaped button on her chest, and there was a mechanical whirring noise. Piko stepped back as a pair of blue, robotic wings unfolded from Miki's back. Iroha, carrying the flamethrower, climbed onto her partner's back between these wings. Then Miki snagged Piko by his cord-tail, and the wings made the sound of a revving motor. The three of them flew off the way that they had come, Piko falling onto his face as he was dragged away.

"See ya later!" Iroha called.

"I'm sorry, Meiko-sama...!" Piko's voice echoed down the corridor.

Four pairs of eyes looked vacantly at the side entrance.

"Whoops," Gumi eventually said.

Meiko grumbled and walked back to retrieve her coffee. "Miku, you have to find someone to be in charge tomorrow," she reiterated. "As in, right now."

Miku sighed, took her plate and stood up. "Alright..."

"Hey, are you going to your room?" Gumi asked as Miku was leaving. "Can I go with you?"

"Shut up, Gumi."

Gumi looked in the direction Miku had left as Meiko and Gakupo sat down at the table. "You know," Gumi said, a proud smile gracing her expression, "I think she likes me slightly more today than she did yesterday."

"Really?" Gakupo responded. "I wonder how that is."

"I'm just waiting for the day when you top 'where have you been all my life'," Meiko said.

Gumi nodded. "Yeah, that was good, that was good..."

* * *

Miku dug through her closet until she found her V4X outfit and hastily threw it on, straightening it out to look neat. Then she pulled out a pair of fake reading glasses that was probably from one of her modules. She turned around to face her bed. "Well? Do I look like a model of responsibility?"

Chiptune tilted his head at her.

"You're right, the glasses are too pretentious." Miku threw the glasses back in the box she had found them in. "Away they go!" She turned back around and pumped a fist in the air. "Now let's find ourselves a responsible Vocaloid!"

"Arf!"

* * *

"I've never actually been in a position of authority before," said Big Al. "But there was this one time when Kaito and I were watching a movie, and he asked me to watch his ice cream while he went to the bathroom, and... I ate the ice cream."

"Next!"

* * *

"I have plenty of people skills!" Kokone declared. "I talk to people everyday. For example, I was talking to Dex the other day, and he was talking about... Ruby... Oh my gosh, Dex and Ruby! I totally ship it! I have to go write this down..."

"Next!"

* * *

"Oh, I have lots of strong points," said Lily, drawing her fingers across the desk seductively and making bedroom eyes. " _Lots_ of strong points."

"Ugh, next!"

* * *

"How much will you pay me?" Wil inquired.

"Next!"

* * *

Gumi drew a breath in preparation to speak.

 _"_ **Next!** "

* * *

"...basically what I'm sayin' is that you want somebody who can really grab people's attentions," said Iroha, "to which I conclude: Look no further."

"I'm not looking for someone who grabs people's attentions, I'm looking for someone who won't burn the house down."

"Hey now, yer talkin' to a queen who's pushin' ten thousand subscribers on NyicoTube. If I ain't qualified for the job, nobody is."

"Iroha-chan!" came Miki. "Look, I found gas!"

"Yo, nyow we can get dat flamethrower workin'!"

**"No!"**

* * *

"Gumi has a flamethrower and she didn't _tell me?!"_ Cul cried incredulously. "How _dare_ she!" She sniffled. "I thought we were _friends!"_ She then immediately turned around and pounded a fist against her palm. "Ooh, that little cunt! I'm gonna punch her in the neck!"

Miku rubbed her forefingers against her temple and tapped the pen in her other hand impatiently against the desk. Chiptune sat in the chair beside her, wagging his tail in blissful ignorance of the complete and total torture his master was experiencing.

* * *

"There has to be _somebody_ responsible here who isn't busy tomorrow! Lola?"

"Sorry Miku, I've got plans."

"Kiyoteru?"

"I'm actually busy grading papers tomorrow."

"Ia?"

"My sincerest of apologies, Hatsune-sama, but Yukari and I have scheduled an outing for that day."

"Oliver?"

"I'm only twelve, Miss Miku."

"Right, sorry. Kyo?"

"How much will you pay me?"

**"Why did I even ask you?!"**

* * *

Miku slammed her head against the table. "I am completely and utterly out of options."

"Well, there has to be _somebody_ you haven't considered," said Teto, using her straw to spin around the ice in her glass. "Have you really gone through everyone?"

"Yes," Miku responded, "and everybody who might have been a good choice is either busy or just doesn't want to." She picked up head up. "The only choice I have that even _remotely resembles_ a good option is Piko, and he would crack under the pressure."

"Huh." Teto looked at Miku blankly. "I'm not really sure how you expect me to help you with this."

"Teto, come on!"

"Alright, alright!" Teto scratched her head. "Well, why don't you reconsider your options? Is there anybody you wrote off too quickly?"

Miku grumbled. "Well, there is... one..."

"One isn't a Vocaloid."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Sorry, I was kidding. Anyway, who were you thinking of?"

Miku sighed. "Gumi."

"Gumi?"

"Gumi."

"As in the same Gumi who hacked your phone?"

"Uh-huh."

"And read your texts?"

"Yep."

"And stalked you halfway across the city?"

"Yeah."

"And waited hours outside a stranger's house for you to come out?"

"Eeyup."

"And loudly professed her undying love for you in the middle of a quiet neighborhood?"

"That's the one."

Teto clenched her teeth. "Yikes. And you're sure she's your only option?"

"Pretty much," Miku replied.

Thoughtfully, Teto took a long sip from her pink lemonade. "Hm. Well... You like Gumi, don't you? She's your friend?"

"When she's not being infuriating, I suppose," Miku answered.

To this, Teto smiled. "Well, she deserves a chance then, doesn't she?"

Miku tilted her head. "Oh, I guess, but..." She shook herself. "She's just so unprofessional! She's really talented, but she never takes anything seriously! And how am I supposed to trust her to stop Iroha and Miki from burning down Central when she's the one who gave the flamethrower to them in the first place?"

"I thought you said they stole it from her."

"That doesn't change the fact that Gumi owns a flamethrower."

"Lots of people own flamethrowers."

"No they don't."

"I own a flamethrower."

"No you don't."

"You're right, I just said that to try and make this sound better."

Miku scoffed. "You're missing the point. She was rubbing it in my face this morning! Earlier at breakfast she pops out of nowhere and says-" She formed circles with her fingers and placed them mockingly over her head. **"- _'Oh,_ Miku! Yer gonna be completely an' utterly outta options! But not ta worry, 'cuz good ol' Gumi will be ****waitin'** **right here for ya when ya come crawling back to her on yer hands and knees!"** Miku pounded her fists down angrily.

"Gumi has a country accent...?" Teto questioned.

"And apparently addresses herself in the third person," Miku sighed. "I just... I don't trust her with this!"

"Really?" Teto challenged. "Or do you just not want to admit defeat?"

After a moment of silence, in which Miku's eyes scanned the table between the two, Miku answered, "I don't... want to be defeated by Gumi."

Teto shrugged. "Welp, you've been defeated." She dramatically threw her arms into the air. "You are completely and utterly out of options!" With a reassuring smile, she continued, "There's no shame~ In fact, admitting your own gruesome failure is one of the biggest steps in becoming a strong leader."

"Gee, thanks."

The UTAUloid giggled. "But, do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I do." Miku nodded solemnly. "I guess I've only got one way to go... so, I'll just have to suck it up, and be a... 'strong leader,' like you said."

"Yup!"

"Thanks, Teto. You always know how to get me through these kinds of things."

"Always happy to help~!" Teto called, as Miku picked herself up and dashed away from the cafe, back in the direction of Vocaloid Central. Teto then took another sip from her drink, taking a look at the glass across from her, which Miku had hardly touched in all her complaining. "Mm. Looks like I'm paying the bill again."

* * *

Miku wasn't particularly fond of the garage, mostly because of the damp and musty smell that it gave off, also because of the terrifyingly enormous roadroller that greeted you when you stepped inside. Gumi, however, (and this would surprise nobody) seemed rather fond of running off to the place every now and then without an explanation. This was fine by Miku, since it meant the gogglehead was out of her hair. It did scare her to think of what Gumi might be working on in here.

There was a little corner in the back of the big, stinky garage (which Miku couldn't believe was never cleaned; maybe she could tack that on to the Kagamines' grounding) with a sliding curtain around it. There had been a loud whirring of something like a drill emitting from it when Miku entered, which promptly ceased when she turned the lights on. Miku walked all the way across the concrete floor and pulled the curtain back without bothering to announce herself. The corner was filled with work benches and cabinets, with several wrenches, screwdrivers and the like scattered about the floor. Gumi was fixing a stained white sheet around an odd shape. She had her goggles pulled over her eyes, which must have been for good reason, because she was filthy.

"Oh, hi Miku," Gumi greeted when she turned, trying and failing to mask her smug, expectant grin.

"What are you working on?" Miku inquired casually.

"It's a secret," Gumi answered, placing the goggles back over her head. "You'll see it when I'm done."

"Sounds scary," Miku commented.

"Only to people paranoid that everything I build will explode," Gumi replied.

"I'm paranoid that everything you build will explode because everything that you build explodes."

Gumi chuckled. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Yeah?" Gumi was wearing a mock-curious expression that almost made Miku want to smack her.

Miku sighed. "Gumi..."

"Yes?"

"Would you..."

"Yes?"

"Perhaps..."

"Yes?"

"If you're not _busy..."_

_"Yes?"_

**"Stop that!"** Miku shouted, and Gumi laughed maniacally. "Do you want the job, or not?!"

Gumi continued to snicker, observing Miku's annoyed expression with humor. When she stopped, Gumi straightened herself, looking away and pretending to check her nails. "Oh, I don't know... Let me check my schedule..."

**"Gumi!"**

"Oh look, I'm all clear for tomorrow!" Gumi flashed a thumbs-up. "I guess I'll just have to take you up on your ever-so-generous offer."

"Great," said Miku flatly. "Fantastic. I'm so happy that you can do this for me."

"Oh, come now, princess..." Gumi draped her arm over Miku's shoulders, and Miku cast her a sideways glare. "Don't be like that! You know you can trust me."

Miku rolled her eyes, taking Gumi's dirty arm and lifting it off of her. "Yes, I'm sure that you and your flamethrower are both _very_ responsible."

Gumi blinked. "Ooh, the flamethrower... Come to think of it, did anybody ever get that thing back from the Explosion Twins?"

"I asked Meiko to take care of it. It didn't make it back to you?" Gumi shook her head, and Miku clenched her teeth. "Oh dear..."

* * *

Somewhere outside of the building...

"Come on!"

"No!"

"Let go!"

"Give it up!"

"Ugh, Piko, you nyincompoop!" Iroha cried, as she and Miki struggled to recover the flamethrower from the tight coils of Piko's cord-tail. "Just give it back!"

"No!" Piko persisted, keeping grip on the cord and also pulling with all his might. "I will stay this way forever if it means you don't destroy anything!"

"But Piko!" said Miki. "What about NicoTube? Think of the NicoTube, Piko!"

"I will not think of the NicoTube, Miki!"

All three tumbled backwards, and the flamethrower dropped to the ground. While Iroha growled at a dazed Miki to get off of her, a door not far from them opened, and Meiko stepped out of it. "Took you long enough..." she muttered, as she kicked dust over the "Explosion Twins" and took up the flamethrower, returning inside with it.

"Ow..." Miki whimpered.

* * *

 **On the next chapter:**???


End file.
